Sun And Sunflower
by TheDevilLord20
Summary: The sunflower follows the sun, just like she followed him.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I've decided to rewrite this fanfic so please be patient me and hopefully it would be better than the previous one

 _Reviews would be appreciated~_

* * *

 **Sun And Sunflower**

 **Yukimura x OC, Tokugawa x OC, Tanegashima x OC**

 **Chapter One**

"Come on...pick up, pick up..."

"There's no need to panic. She'll come out soon."

It had been exactly five minutes since the bell signalling the end of school had rang. Two tall girls were standing right outside the gate, catching attention of students who were leaving for home. The taller one, Haruko, stood at 175 cm. She let out a yawn, forgetting to cover her mouth while she was at it. The other, Koharu, glared while her phone was still pressing to her ear. "How can I not panic? She's supposed to be out by now," Koharu stated, now pacing up and down as she was redialing the number on her phone, listening to it ring without an answer for the umpteenth time.

Haruko let out another yawn, leaning against the wall and closed her eyes. "I physically cannot panic right now. I got off the train after travelling almost four hours and you dragged me here instead of letting me go home to rest." Yet another yawn was on the way but as soon as Haruko opened her mouth, Koharu slapped her hand onto her older sister's face, covering her mouth for her. "Hey!"

"Worry about your sister!"

"Isn't she the manager of the tennis team or something?" Haruko sighed, scratching the back of her head.

Koharu stopped midway dialing and stared at Haruko as if she had said something out of this world. "Why didn't you tell me that before I called her like twenty times?" Snapping her phone shut, Koharu stormed onto the campus. The crowd of students had thinned out and having been students at Seigaku before, the sisters were familiar with the grounds. Following behind Koharu sluggishly, Haruko was looking around the campus instead of looking for her sister. The campus still looked the same from when she was last here three years ago. The only changes she could notice was the walls being repainted over. "Woah...these are the courts?"

Haruko snapped out of her personal sightseeing and looked to see what amazed Koharu. The rest of the school had not changed but the tennis courts definitely did. Haruko was impressed too. They looked brand new and there were definitely a few more courts than there were when she was there. The equipments looked new and the team looked promising. The eldest of the Kobayashi sisters walked right past her younger sister and gripped onto the fence, watching the practice going on with a grin on her face. She was proud of her mother school. She was proud of what the tennis team had become. But while she was reminiscing, Koharu headed straight for the gate into the courts although she was not allowed in.

"May I help you?"

A member, clad in a blue jersey, stepped in front of Koharu to stop her from entering the courts. He looked at the girl with a frown and Koharu rose an eyebrow, standing up straight, clearly standing taller than the boy was yet he was not intimidated. That put a frown on Koharu's face, seeing as the Kobayashi sisters were rather feared when they were in Seigaku. Middle school students were really getting bold nowadays.

"I'm looking for someone. Do you know a Kobayashi Haruka?"

"Haruka-senpai? She's right over there."

The boy pointed across the court but as Koharu looked too, she frowned. There was no one where he pointed except for a ball basket. "Are you playing me?" she asked. He frowned deeply and looked around the courts but could not see the tiny brunette girl that Koharu was looking for. "I don't have all day, boy. Where is she?"

"She was right there!"

In truth, Haruka saw Haruko and Koharu coming from afar. She was counting the tennis balls as she was putting them back into the basket, making sure that they had as many as they started with when a deep gut feeling told her to look up. That was when she recognised the two figures coming toward the tennis courts. As Fuji was walking by the girl, she grabbed him and used his body to shield herself. Haruka was still squatting, holding onto Fuji's sweatpants as she was slowly maneuvering over to the gate. It seemed as if her sisters had yet to notice her. It was not that Haruka did not want to go home with them but today was Wednesday and she always went _there_ on Wednesdays and Fridays.

"Is everything okay, Haruka?" Fuji asked, looking down at the manager and his fellow classmate.

When Haruka first transferred to Seigaku in the middle of their first year, Fuji's first impression was that of a shy, cute girl. She was assigned the seat next to him and as time went by, he got to know her better and well, Haruka was far from being a shy, cute girl. She was an oddball. And well...in some ways, Fuji was too. He supposed that was the reason why they got along so well with each other. Even so, squatting so close to the ground that she was almost using her knees to walk while using him as a shield was a new level of odd that even Fuji did not understand.

"My sisters are here," Haruka stated.

"Are they...monsters?"

"I'm not here for your jokes right now, Shu-kun," Haruka glared. "Just get me out of here before they see me."

"Why? Will they stop you from going to Kanagawa?"

Haruka froze but soon resumed her escape. "Just keep walking, Shu-kun." Fuji chuckled softly and continued walking as her human shield. They managed to make it out of the courts without being seen by any of the Kobayashi sisters, leading to a huge sigh of relief by Haruka. "Thanks, Shu-kun. I'll see you tomorrow!" Before Haruka could run off, Fuji grabbed her by the elbow, looking down at her with his signature smile. "Shu-kun?"

"I'm suddenly feeling like a trip to Kanagawa," Fuji smiled.

An eyebrow was raised and Haruka freed her elbow. It was no secret that she would sneak off to Kanagawa regularly but no one ever questioned her (they only asked where she was going initially but stopped asking eventually). This was a sudden request from Fuji, considering he never really poked his nose into her business before. They were good friends but they had a mutual understanding and a barrier that they never crossed for each other. Fuji sensed her confusion but it seemed like he was still insisting on coming along with her.

"Fine."

And so, they ended up sitting side by side on the train to Kanagawa. It felt a little awkward to have someone else travelling with her. And they were not talking. Fuji seemed to be mesmerised by the scenery while Haruka was trying to think of a way to shake him off.

"Don't even think about shaking me off," Fuji suddenly voiced.

To say that Haruka was shocked was an understatement. Fuji could only chuckle at her reaction, knowing that she was asking how he managed to read her mind silently. But him chuckling only confused her further as she was probably thinking how he knew that she was wondering how he read her mind. "Do you have some kind of superpower, Shu-kun?"

"I don't. But you're an open book, Haruka. Everything's written on your face," Fuji stated.

Her cheeks puffed out and Haruka touched her face as if she could feel her expressions with her own hands. "Am I really that easy to read?" she asked. But thinking about it, everything in her life would make sense. She always wondered how Haruko and Koharu managed to know what exactly it was that she never wanted them to do to her. She always thought her older brother had some kind of mind reading power too, like she thought Fuji, because he seemed to always know what she was thinking about. Even Eiji would tease Haruka, saying that she would never win a poker game.

"But there's still a lot I don't know about you," Fuji added. "Like is there a reason for why our dear manager was not at the Finals against Rikkai Dai?"

"No reason in particular."

"Hm...you're not a very good liar, Haruka," Fuji pointed out. "Let me take a guess...it has something to do with your regular trips to Kanagawa?" Haruka kept quiet because she knew there was no fooling Fuji. She had told Eiji before that she was simply going to Kanagawa to visit her grandmother. But there was no grandmother in Kanagawa. "You transferred from Rikkai Dai, did you not? With your grades, it should not be hard for you to stay there. So there's another reason why you left?"

"Some things are better left unknown, Shu-kun," Haruka sighed, looking out of the window, watching as they were passing by the scenery.

Folding her arm and resting it on the chair, against the window, Haruka placed her head on her arm to rest. The rest of the journey was traveled in silence as Fuji could sense that he was prodding a little too much. Haruka was a bright girl. Had always been one since the day he met her. But it was just a front that she was putting on. The Haruka right now, the one staring out of the window without a single smile, was the real Haruka and she was hiding a lot about herself.

Existing the train onto the platform when they arrived, Fuji excused himself to go to the bathroom and Haruka waited for him by the exit. Everything was still so familiar yet foreign to her, considering how often she visited. She used to take the train everyday, to and from school. _He_ would walk her to the station everyday and every morning, without fail, he would be waiting for her so they could walk to school together. Even though everything had changed since then, Haruka still found herself looking through the crowd for _his_ face. There was still the tiniest hope in her that he would come and get her.

All she got, instead, was sudden chills down her spine as a can of drink was stuck under her neck. Haruka yelped and nearly slapped her palm against Fuji's cheek if he did not dodge. But he definitely deserved a slap. With the way he was smiling, Haruka knew he did it on purpose and was satisfied with the way she reacted to him. "You're not very nice, Shu-kun. That was unnecessary."

"You were so deep in thoughts that you didn't hear me call so I thought to bring you back to reality," he smiled, still offering her the drink he used to prank her with. "You must be thirsty after that train ride."

"Thanks..."

"Where to now? I suppose you should give me a tour?"

Letting out a deep sigh, Haruka finally smiled at Fuji and nodded. There was no other way about it. There was no shaking Fuji which meant that her original plan was interrupted. Since they were already here, she might as well show him around. "Let's go to the temple then. There are some places for food on the wall too. If we're lucky, the granny who sells fruits is opened today. She's really nice, she practically watched me and Koharu-nee grow up."

"So even Haruka has such a cute story like that," Fuji smiled.

"What does that mean?"

"I just thought that with your older brother playing pro tennis, you would have all grown up playing tennis or some kind of sports too. I imagined that your family is full of athletes and you eat your meals doing push-ups."

"You're so weird..." Haruka mumbled. "You're not far off though. Dad is a police. He knows martial arts and used to train regularly at a gym. Onii-chan started playing tennis at five. Haruko-nee played too and they used to train with each other. They played mix doubles together and they've won a lot of medals. I went to watch onii-chan play at a competition once, when I was seven, and I started playing a little too back then. But I stopped after a few years."

"You _do_ play," Fuji hummed. "I should play a game with you some time."

Haruka giggled, shaking her head. "You're not going to get much out of it. I barely remember the different grips now."

"Is there a place here to play tennis?" Fuji suddenly asked. "A street court? Or perhaps one of those place you can rent to hit a few balls?"

"But we were going to the temple..."

"We can go another day. I'm intrigued now that I know you play," Fuji smiled. "Saa...you wouldn't want me to carry you there now, would you Haruka?"

At that, Haruka quickly led the way to a street court that she knew of. It was filled with students already, coming straight here after school, but the duo managed to get a court for themselves. Setting her bag down, Haruka sighed softly to herself. She had no idea why she agreed to this because first of all, she was not dressed appropriately for the sport. She had shorts underneath her skirt but she was still wearing her uniform. Not to mention that she was missing the key ingredient to playing tennis; a racket.

As if he read her mind, Fuji presented a racket to Haruka. "It's not a gift," he teased. "I'm letting you borrow it just for today." Haruka uttered a thank you, knowing that there was no way she could back out of this now. Taking the racket from Fuji, she was stopped instantly and the tennis genius corrected her grip on the racket before letting her get on the court, going to the opposite side himself.

Fuji tested Haruka's skills at first, serving the ball to her gently. Surprisingly, the memory of her tennis playing days was coming back and her body would move by itself, hitting the ball back. After a few rounds of testing, they were finally moving on to playing a game. Fuji gave her a handicap, promising that he would not use any of his counters on her. Not that he would need to anyway, because Haruka's skills was nowhere near his. She could get away with playing street tennis for a game or two but to play against a regular member of a tennis team seemed a little far-fetched.

And just as anyone would have guessed, Haruka was absolutely crushed by Fuji. She never knew why she agreed to a bet with him, since she knew fully well that she would never win. Perhaps it was the competitive gene in her that ultimately pushed her to agreeing but now she was regretting every second of it. First, she had to accept a tennis lesson from Fuji before being sent off to get drinks and some snacks for both of them. Her classmate's excuse was that she knew the area better than he did so it was only natural that she would be running the errands but Haruka knew that he was taking advantage of the fact that he won.

* * *

"There's no need for you to see me off, Yukimura-kun," Hikaru smiled, putting a hand on the young captain's shoulder. "I know my way around the area. I used to go to school here after all."

"It's only right for me to see you off, Kobayashi-senpai. I really appreciate you coming to see the team."

"I'm busy in Australia nowadays but I really wanted to come and see my mother school now that I'm back on break," Hikaru said. "It was really nice to see so many talented players. Looks like Rikkai had not slip while I was gone."

"We still have a long way to go, senpai. We lost the Nationals this year so we have a lot to work on."

Give Yukimura's shoulder a little squeeze, Hikaru let go of the boy. He attended Rikkai too and he knew the pressure they all had to be perfect when it came to winning. Hikaru was lucky that he was born a few years ahead of the current Rikkai team because he knew he would never make the cut, even when he was a professional now. Just as he was about to say something else to the captain, something caught Hikaru's eyes and the word that left his lips was completely different to what he originally intended to say.

"Haruka?"

The girl's name caught Yukimura's attention too. Both of them looked in the same direction to see the girl they both knew well running somewhere with several things in her arms. Yukimura had grown quite used to Haruka's regular visit since his hospitalisation. She never came back, not even once, since her transfer to Seigaku but since the discovering of his illness, he would catch her watching from a distance at the hospital. It was from Sanada that Yukimura found out Haruka was at the hospital the entire time during his surgery and only left when she knew he survived it. Nowadays, he would often see her hiding in a corner near their practice courts watching them. Not once did she ever come out from hiding to greet them. So Yukimura continued to pretend as if he did not know of her presence.

He thought it was rather odd that she was not in her usual corner today but when he saw Hikaru visiting, he dismissed it, thinking that Haruka must have gone home early to welcome her brother home. So what was she doing in the area, running somewhere with what looked like drinks and snacks?

Yukimura was not the only one curious after seeing the girl as Hikaru followed right after Haruka. The captain followed too. It had been too long since he last saw Haruka properly. They had not spoken since she left Rikkai and Yukimura never knew why she left either. He only remembered that she was not there at their usual meeting place one day and after a few days of disappearance, the teacher announced that Haruka would not be coming back to school. Through Sanada and his own mother did Yukimura know that Haruka had transferred to Seigaku instead but no other information was given to him.

Hikaru's phone ringing snapped Yukimura back to reality. They were still tailing Haruka but it seemed as if she had not noticed them. It worried Yukimura a little to see for himself how unaware Haruka was of her surrounding. What if it was a bunch of thugs following her?

"Yeah, I'm on my way home," Hikaru said, his phone pressed to his ear. "Really? Because I'm looking at her right now. Yeah, I'll bring her back with me, don't worry. Tell mum we'll be home on time for dinner. Alright, I'll see you soon. Bye."

Haruka turned the corner down the street and Yukimura recognised the place instantly. This was the road that led to the street courts that quite a few people he knew would play at. He never knew Haruka to be one of them, however. He never even knew she played anymore. But things soon made sense when Fuji came into the picture. Haruka was sat beside the genius on the bench with a bright smile on her face. Fuji opened a drink, handing it to Haruka, sharing the snack that she was carrying just moments ago.

It was a rather familiar sight to Yukimura, seeing that he used to be the one sitting next to Haruka. While Yukimura hung back, Hikaru walked right up to the duo without a second thought. "Kobayashi Haruka."

"Onii-chan!"

Fuji looked to see who had interrupted them. Seeing Hikaru standing tall and rather scarily, Fuji stood up and greeted the older boy with a bow. Not only was he emitting a scary older aura, one that Fuji himself would sometimes give out, but Hikaru was easily recognisable as the professional tennis player who was currently the nation's pride. He just never thought he would be seeing the player himself up close.

"Koharu told me that you ran away from them," Hikaru said, his tone of voice so stern that even Fuji did not dare to have a smile on. "Is this what you ran away from your sisters for? To come on a date?"

"This is not a date," both Fuji and Haruka answered at the same time.

"You do know that I come home today, right?" Hikaru asked. "And Haruko came back from Osaka too."

"I was going to go home..." Haruka mumbled. It was half a lie. She was still going to make her usual trip to Kanagawa before going home. Except there was a little change in plan today, with Fuji tagging along. "And of course I knew onii-chan was coming home today. But you went to Rikkai first, didn't you?"

Putting his hands up in the air, Hikaru finally smiled. "Alright, guess we're even then," he laughed, pulling Haruka in for a hug and ruffled her hair affectionately. "I missed you, pumpkin." Haruka wrapped her arms around her older brother, giving him a tight squeeze as she told him that he was missed too. "Shall we head home together? I told Koharu that I would bring you home in time for dinner."

"Guess our Kanagawa trip has been cut short then," Fuji smiled. "If you don't mind, Kobayashi-senpai, I'll be tagging along on the train back. It's a real pleasure to meet you."

"You too, kid," Hikaru smirked. "It's rare to see this munchkin here with friends," Hikaru teased, pinching Haruka's cheeks. "Only friends I ever saw her make were Sanada-kun and Yukimura-kun. Speaking of," he frowned, looking over his shoulder to see where Yukimura was but the blue-haired male was nowhere to be seen. "Never mind then. Shall we get going then?"

"Can you please stop pinching my cheeks then, onii-chan?"


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Despite having abandoned this fic for a while, I am back to write it now and hopefully I'll keep with it!

 _Reviews would be appreciated~_

* * *

 **Sun And Sunflower**

 **Yukimura x OC, Tokugawa x OC, Tanegashima x OC**

 **Chapter Two**

Tokyo felt different to Haruko.

Tokyo was her hometown, where she was born and where she mostly grew up. But it was still such a unfamiliar place to her. Even as she was sat between her siblings with their parents just on the other side of the table, Haruko still felt like an outsider. Being away for three years to attend school at Osaka meant that she grew up apart from her sisters. Haruko was completely out of the loop with their lives, meaning it was especially hard for her to slip into the conversations. All she could do was smile and nod, occasionally laughing when they did.

To others, they were a close family. To Haruko, however, they were no different to the people in her class who were...just people in her class.

Amidst all the chatters that were going on at once, Hikaru was the only person who noticed Haruko's discomfort. He suddenly stood up, breaking the conversations and all eyes were on him. He gave them his prize-winning smile and apologised for the interruption. "I'm heading out for a little practice, don't want to be out of shape while I'm on holiday. Haruko, do you mind being my partner?" Everyone else went back to their own conversations while Haruko stood up as well.

Hikaru quickly changed into his tennis gear, grabbing his bag and headed for the front door only to see that Haruko was already there waiting for him. With a bid of goodbye to the rest of the family, the two eldest Kobayashi children left the residence.

To use the word 'awkward' to describe their walk to the nearby public tennis court was an understatement. Besides Haruko, Hikaru was someone who was not particularly close with the family either. They were both similar in some ways; both living away from the family and getting out of touch with them. Hikaru, however, was in a better position because he went abroad for pro tennis. He would still call home occasionally and everyone was proud of him. Haruko though, was the complete opposite. When she chose a school in Osaka, her parents were opposed to the idea. It took an entire month of persuading, with Hikaru involved to convince them, before they finally agreed. The person they were walking right next to, was a person they used to know well but was now nothing more than someone they were related to.

"Mum told me that you are doing well at Osaka," Hikaru said, letting his bag down and unzipped it to get his racket out.

"That's what I tell her."

"Let's see what the captain of the girls' tennis team is made of."

Standing on the court like so with Hikaru brought back memories. A lot of them. Her older brother was the sole reason why Haruko even started playing tennis in the first place. She thought he looked cool when he was on the court and she wanted to be as cool as he was. Hikaru taught her everything, and they would practice together. When she got good enough, Haruko stood on the same side of the court with Hikaru to play mix doubles and they were a great duo. Those were the happiest times of Haruko's life. Back when it was just Hikaru and Haruko.

Then, Haruka was interested in tennis too. Everyone in the family always doted on Haruka, Haruko included. She was the youngest, and therefore, she was the precious baby. Hikaru, in particular, doted on her the most. When his little pumpkin wanted to learn tennis, he was more than delighted. Haruko, on the other hand, hated the idea. Tennis was when Haruko had her older brother all to herself but she had lost that. And once again, she went back to being the older sister that no one really paid attention to. Since then, the only times when Haruko would feel happy was when they were in Osaka to visit their grandmother. That was when she chose to study in Osaka.

All these were feelings that Haruko bottled up in herself. Watching as Hikaru was about to serve, Haruko knew that he had sensed something was wrong with her but he would never have guessed what it was that had always been bothering her.

For the next two hours or so, Haruko felt as if they were back to those days when they were mix doubles partners. She even had a smile on her face. For two hours, she had her older brother back. Deciding to take a little break, the siblings sat together by the side, both taking sips from their water bottle while calming down. "You've gotten better," Hikaru smiled, ruffling her hair. "With a little more training, you might even be able to play pro tennis."

"Pro tennis?" Haruko asked, shaking her head with a little smile. "That's not really what I want."

"What do you want?" Hikaru hummed.

Haruko went silent. What _did_ she want? Even Haruko herself did not know. She did not have an answer for him. She played tennis because Hikaru did. She went to Osaka to escape from her family. Even now, as she was supposed to be choosing her university, her career, her future, Haruko had no idea. Every time her teacher asked, she would only ask for more time. That she would let her know next time.

"Haruko, what's really on your mind?" Hikaru asked. "The Haruko I knew...you're not a person of words, I know. That's Koharu. But you're not the type to just sit there and keep to yourself either. Unless there's something bothering you. Come on, talk to me. I'm your older brother, am I not? You used to tell me everything."

" _Used_ to, Hikaru," Haruko pointed out. "You _are_ my older brother, but only by blood. It doesn't matter what's on my mind. It never does. So just save it, okay? I gotta go, I've got something to do. You should head home. I'm sure Haruka would love to do something with you."

Before Hikaru could even stop her, Haruko was already up and leaving.

* * *

After running away from her brother, Haruko found herself walking around town aimlessly. She had enough time to herself to think over what happened earlier in the morning. Hikaru was just being an older brother. He sensed that something was wrong with Haruko and took her out to talk but she threw it back in his face and ran away. Then again, that was how she dealt with things usually. She would just run away from a situation that she could not handle. She would have to apologise but with a personality like hers, it would be hard for her to actually say the word 'sorry'.

Since she was out, Haruko figured she might as well do some errands of her own. She walked into a bookstore and started browsing the aisles, looking for a specific book that she wanted for a while now. Before she knew it, Haruko already had a few books in her arms but still had not found the one book she came looking for. Just as she was about to browse the last aisle, a magazine stand caught her eyes. The magazine placed right in the middle was what first got her attention. It was a men's magazine; a fashion magazine for teenage boys. It was not the magazine itself that got her, it was the familiar face on the cover. That...irritating face.

Her body acted on its own, her hand reaching out and Haruko flicked her finger at the face. She giggled a little at her own childish act when a voice from behind startled her.

"Whatcha doin', Lil Spring?"

"What the hell?!"

Every head in the store turned in Haruko's direction and she was quick to bow in apology, quickly moving away from the magazine stand. The person who startled her followed right behind. Haruko did not have to look to know who it was. There was only one person in this world who would call her 'Lil Spring' despite the constant reminder that her name was 'Haruko'. And that person was the reason why Haruko was flicking at the magazine cover.

"It's cute how yer Kansai accent comes out when yer surprised, Lil Spring."

"Stop calling me Lil Spring," Haruko hissed. "For the last time, my name is Haruko. Ha-Ru-Ko. Not Lil Spring."

"Hm...but Haruko means child of spring, ain't it? That makes ya Lil Spring!"

"What are you even doing in Tokyo?"

"Had a shoot here. We finished early so I wanna walk around. Not everyday I gotta come to the big city, y'know? Didn't think I would run into ya here. Then I saw ya lookin' at my magazine. I look good, don't I?"

Haruko rolled her eyes, ignoring the model's own compliment. As a model, there was no doubt that Tanegashima was good looking. Haruko thought so too, when she first met him. Until he opened his mouth. From then on, it was just annoyance after annoyance every time they met. From their very first meeting, Tanegashima thought it was cute to give her the nickname 'Lil Spring' which was already not a great start to a friendship. And for whatever reason, he seemed rather attached to her. No matter how rude she was to him, how much she would ignore him, she would still find him tagging along like they were best friends. She was thankful for the fact that she would only see him once a year for a couple of months. Otherwise, she would much prefer leaving the country.

"Whatcha doin' in Tokyo then, Lil Spring?" Tanegashima asked, running his finger along the spines of the books on the shelves. "Oh yeah, ya said yer family's in Tokyo, right? Are ya back to visit?"

"None of your business."

"Whatcha lookin' for?"

"A book...I don't think it's here. Ah, excuse me." Haruko, once again, ignored Tanegashima and walked off by herself, walking up to the sales assistant. "Sorry, do you know where I can find this book on photography? The cover of it is a monkey on a tree. I've been looking for the past half an hour or so but I can't find it."

While Haruko was busy with the sales assistant, Tanegashima went looking around himself. He went into a specific aisle and looking through the shelves, picking out a specific book. He then went around looking for Haruko and presented her with the book. The first look that Haruko gave him was that of irritation, because he interrupted her in the midst of explaining other details of the book to the clerk. Though, when she saw the book in his hand, the happiness on her face could not be fake.

"You found it!"

* * *

Since leaving the bookstore, Haruko had visited several other stores with Tanegashima tagging along. Her day ended with her sitting in a café and the model sitting opposite at the same table. Although she was not particularly keen on hanging out with him for the whole day, Haruko must admit that she was rather shocked when Tanegashima went up to the counter to order for them, coming back with a drink and a cake (caramel macchiato and a red velvet) that happened to be her favourites. Not even her own sisters knew what Haruko liked.

"How long are you planning to follow me around for? Didn't you say you have a shoot?"

" _Had_. I've got nothin' else to do so might as well follow ya around, huh? It's kinda fun, goin' on a date with ya, Lil Spring."

"First of all, it's _Haruko_. Secondly, this is _not_ a date. Last but not least, this is Tokyo. There's plenty for you to do besides following me around."

"Hm...this date is more fun though," Tanegashima grinned while Haruko flinched at the word 'date'.

This was most definitely not a date. If anything, she was forced to hang out with him because no matter how many times she told him to go away, he was still tagging along. She would admit (but not out loud to Tanegashima) that while having him around was a little annoying, she was glad she did not have to spend the day by herself. She spent the day thinking about how irritating Tanegashima was, how she wanted to get away from him, instead of the little outburst she had with Hikaru that morning. With Tanegashima there, she did not have the time to even have one small thought about Hikaru.

"Plus..." Tanegashima continued, his elbow on the table with his head resting against his palm while he looked Haruko straight in the eyes. "Ya looked really sad this mornin'. Thought I could cheer ya up a lil."

Did she look sad?

Haruko straightened her back, feeling a little uncomfortable that Tanegashima had seen through her. Of all people, Haruko hated to say that he was the one who understood her the best. It did not matter if she had a smile on her face or a frown, he always knew what she was truly feeling. Whenever she was down, he would stay by her side until she had cheered up a little (most of the time by beating him up but it was not like he ever complained). He was the only person who knew when she was truly happy too, because he would always mention how he really liked her smile.

"Wanna talk 'bout it?"

"I would feel a lot happier if I don't have to see your stupid face."

"Ya love my stupid face."

In all honesty, if Haruko could punch him right in the face without getting into trouble, she would without a doubt. But she held herself back. Not because it was morally wrong but because she felt a little grateful that he was around. Instead, she looked down and ate her cake silently, much to Tanegashima's surprise because he was expecting some sort of comeback and at least a napkin thrown at him.

"Isn't he so good looking?"

"I know!"

"He looks a little familiar..."

"Isn't he a model? I've seen him on a magazine before."

"You should ask him."

" _You_ ask him!"

"Of course I'm not! He's with that girl."

"Is she his girlfriend?"

"Of course...the good ones are always taken."

"Yeah but, don't you think she doesn't really suit him?"

"Yeah, he could do so much better."

The girls at the table just behind Haruko were not exactly good at whispering, or keeping the conversation to themselves. Everywhere he went, Tanegashima turned heads. It was not hard with his looks; he was tall, ( _really_ ) good looking, and just the aura about him. Haruko was rather used to it whenever she was with him. It was a little difficult to expect a model not to garner attention when they were out and about. Whether or not people knew he was a model, he was still the centre of attention most of the time. And usually, Haruko would just let it be. They mostly just stared and whispered among themselves, some brave ones would ask for an autograph or a picture. But this time, they had to drag her into it.

"Didn't ya parents teach you not to talk 'bout others behind their back?" Her Kansai accent was seeping out without Haruko even noticing. This was becoming the norm whenever she got a little too angry. Having spent most of her summers with her grandmother and living semi-permanently in Osaka really brought out that Kansai accent in her. "And so what if I'm datin' him, hm? Important thing is that he chose me and not ya, right?"

Having being called out, the girls were too embarrassed to talk back. Generally, no one talked back to Haruko. They were mostly too busy fearing for their lives to even think about talking about to her. They scrambled to pick up their things and left the café, much to the pleasure of Haruko.

As she was straightening herself, she caught a glimpse of a smirk on Tanegashima's face. "Ya should speak more in the Kansai accent. It suits ya." That comment got Haruko a little self-conscious. Every single time she slipped into the Kansai accent, someone would point it out like it was something bad. She could not help it. When she was younger, she learnt the dialect because she thought it was fun that despite being in the same country, there were people who spoke a little differently. Her sisters learnt too. It then became natural for her to speak it because it was just easier to communicate when she was in Osaka. They stopped because there was no need for the dialect in Tokyo. And now, Koharu would make fun of her whenever she would slip.

"I'm going," she stated, finishing her coffee in one shot, leaving a half-eaten cake behind as she grabbed her shopping.

"Wait, where are ya goin'?"

"Home."

"I'll walk ya."

"Please don't."

But of course, this was Tanegashima and Tanegashima never listened. He kept a small distance between them but he walked all the way with Haruko until she reached home. Even as she stood outside the front door to her house, Tanegashima did not leave. Was he waiting until she was inside?

Just as she was about to put her key into the lock, the door opened. Hikaru stood in front of Haruko with a smile on his face though that smile slowly dissipated when he spotted Tanegashima hanging around the gate. He raised an eyebrow and looked to Haruko. "Your boyfriend?" Haruko rolled her eyes in response and pushed past Hikaru, heading straight for her room upstairs. Why was it that the first thought to enter someone's mind whenever they saw Tanegashima with Haruko would be that he was her boyfriend? "Alright...not your boyfriend," Hikaru said, closing the door behind him. "But he looks so familiar...where have I seen him before?"

"Seen who before?" Koharu asked, a bowl of strawberries in her hand. Hikaru reached to take one but Koharu pulled the bowl away while slapping at his hand at the same time. "Get your own. Seen who before?"

"Some guy walked Haruko home. Um...tall, white hair, dark skin. Quite good looking."

"Oh! Tanegashima-senpai!"

"Who?"

"Tanegashima Shuji. He goes to the U-17 camp but you wouldn't know cos you're already in Australia when he started participating. He's a model though, for some kind of fashion magazine so maybe that's where you've seen him before." Koharu popped a strawberry in her mouth, chewing and swallowing before speaking again. "He's actually a friend of Haruko-nee's, believe it or not."

Looking to the stairs, Hikaru gave a little smile. He was really worried about Haruko after the way she left in the morning. He tried calling her too but she left her phone at home. But to know that she had been with a friend, it meant that she was alright enough. In one way or another.

"Stop trying to steal my strawberries! Get your own, onii-chan!"


	3. Chapter 3

_Reviews would be appreciated~_

* * *

 **Sun And Sunflower**

 **Yukimura x OC, Tokugawa x OC, Tanegashima x OC**

 **Chapter Three**

"Kobayashi-san! This is for you!"

All morning, Haruka had been receiving unexpected acts of kindness. There was a small carton of strawberry milk on her desk when she walked into the classroom, along with a sandwich. Those whom she did not even know would come up to her to greet her a good morning. When she asked Fuji for his notes because she did not understand the maths lesson, at least three people offered theirs. And now, in line to get lunch, someone just handed her a melon bun. Of course, Haruka was not complaining. Melon bun and strawberry milk were her favourites, after all. She was just a little...suspicious.

"Are you sure you want to eat that, Haruka?" Fuji asked. "You drank the strawberry milk without second thoughts this morning too. You could have been poisoned." Fuji leaned down, his lips right by Haruka's ear as he whispered to her. Haruka jolted a little, hating the feeling of hot breath on her ear. Something that Fuji knew about but obviously disregarded so he could tease her.

"I highly doubt that people in our school would poison me. They have no reason to," Haruka stated, opening the packaging to get to the melon bun. "But...it's a little odd. Why are they all so nice to me?" That was the question that loomed around but she never thought to ask until now.

"Maybe our Haruka is finally getting popular."

" _Our_ Haruka? Don't talk as if I'm your little sister. We're the same age, Shu-kun."

"Ha~ruka-chan!"

Just before Eiji could latch onto Haruka and pull her into a bear hug like he always did, Fuji took a step back and pulled Haruka with him, saving her. Eiji nearly lost his balance and fell on his face from missing his target. He managed to regain his balance before looking up with a pout. Such affection was nothing out of the ordinary for Haruka. Since her transfer to Seigaku, Fuji and Eiji had been her classmates and they had been great friends. She would admit that she hated the idea of being greeted by a hug everyday but she was soon used to it, even to the point where the day would feel incomplete unless she got a hug from Eiji.

"Haruka-chan, is it true that your older brother is home?" Eiji asked. "You know...Kobayashi Hikaru? The pro tennis player? Japan's treasure?"

Instantly, Haruka shot Fuji a glare. It was finally becoming clear as to why everyone was being so nice to her. Now, the Kobayashi siblings were famous in Seigaku for many reasons. Haruko and Koharu were both well known alumnae of their school, both for different reasons of course; Haruko being the star of the girls' tennis team while Koharu was known for being the prettiest. Naturally, when Haruka transferred to Seigaku, there were a buzz about her too though it soon died out because well...she was just too...normal. But Hikaru was not a Seigaku alumni. In fact, he never even set foot on campus. Of course, almost everyone in Japan would know him as the young pro tennis player but not many knew of him as Haruka's older brother.

"Don't give me such a scary look, Haruka." Fuji pressed a thumb between Haruka's brows, rubbing gently to iron out the wrinkles her frown made. Haruka went to slap his hand away but he retracted just in time. "Eiji asked where I went yesterday and I told him we went on a little trip. I may or may not have mentioned that your brother, Kobayashi Hikaru, came to pick you up."

"So it's true? He really is your older brother?" Eiji asked, latching himself onto Haruka now that he found a chance.

"Yes, he is. And no, I'm not going to get his autograph or picture or his belongings for anyone. He's not Kobayashi Hikaru to me, he's just my brother."

Now that Haruka knew the truth behind all the acts of kindness, she was starting to find them irritating. A few brave souls had asked if it was true that her brother was indeed, the famous Kobayashi Hikaru, and they were shot down almost immediately by Haruka. It was not a secret in particular. Haruka would happily let her friends know who her brother was. It was those who had ulterior motives that Haruka wanted to steer clear of. She hated the idea of people being friends with her because they thought they might be able to get close to the rising star of Japan.

Even after school at the tennis club, Haruka was bombarded with question after question about her brother. It was not until Fuji and Tezuka stepping in did they finally stop. Finally, she was able to let out a huge sigh of relief. Her day was far from being finished but Haruka was already feeling knackered. For once, she wished her brother was not Hikaru.

"Alright, gather up," Coach Ryuzaki called out to the club. "We have some good news to announce. How many of you here have heard of the U-17 training camp?"

"It's a selection camp for the top potentials in tennis for Japan. But only high school students are chosen to participate." Every single pair of eyes were on Haruka, the one person they were not expecting to respond. Haruka stared back with a puzzled look. Fuji let out a soft chuckle, being the first to look away. It was then that Haruka realised, as a non-player, it seemed a little out of the ordinary that she would have knowledge of such a camp. "Hey, don't look at me like that. I'm the manager here, it shouldn't be surprising that I know some tennis stuff. Plus...my brother went there before going to Australia."

"The oh-so-famous Kobayashi Hikaru," Coach Ryuzaki nodded. "That's right, the U-17 training camp is a place for the top potentials in tennis. To be selected to join would mean that you have skills that could lead you to a bright future in the tennis world. Now, as our manager has said, only high school players are selected to participate in the past. However, they had decided that this year, they would allow middle school players to take part in the camp and as the champion of the Nationals, our school has been invited naturally. It is very possible that we are looking at the next treasure of Japan right now."

The news created a buzz among the tennis club. To be selected to participate in the training camp was something every tennis player dreamt of. Not only was it a chance to improve but it was a chance for them to really show their potential and be scouted. But they were soon hushed by the captain.

"I know this is very exciting news but that does not mean that we do not have practice."

"Kuni-nii is so harsh..."

"Kobayashi."

Given a short while to celebrate the news, the team was soon back to practice but in much higher spirit now.

* * *

"Toothbrush, toothpaste...ah, face wash..."

As she was walking past Koharu's room, Haruko peeked through the open door to see her younger sister sitting on her knees on the floor with her belongings spread out all around her and a suitcase opened in front of her. Despite her loud personality, Koharu was in fact the most organised in the family. Her room was always immaculate and everything had its own place that it should be returned to after use. Every holiday, they never have to be afraid that they had forgotten something because Koharu would have it (but whether or not she would let them use it was another problem itself).

"Whatcha doin'?"

"You're speaking in Kansai dialect," Koharu pointed out, not even sparing Haruko a look as she packed her toiletry bag. She put everything into the bag only to take them all out again to check over her list, making sure she had everything before putting them back in once more.

Having her accent pointed out was something Haruko hated that Koharu did. If she had to choose, Haruka was definite the better younger sister. At the very least, she had some respect. But perhaps it was the age difference that caused the difference in attitude towards her between Koharu and Haruka. There was only a year of difference between Haruko and Koharu, after all. They were more like friends than they were siblings. But it did not make Koharu any less annoying as a person. And so, as a petty revenge, Haruko invited herself into the room and walked up to the suitcase. Koharu had yet to notice what it was that Haruko had in mind but it was already too late when she did because the elder tipped the suitcase with her foot, messing up the contents of the suitcase.

"OI!" Koharu screeched, shoving Haruko out of the way as she glared up at the older girl, to which Haruko simply gave her a shrug. "You evil-"

"That's what ya get for pointin' out my accent," Haruko smirked.

"Now I have to pack everything again."

"You can just dump everything in, you don't have to make it all nice looking. No one's gonna look in there," Haruko said, rolling her eyes at Koharu's overreaction. "What are you packing for anyway?"

Koharu stopped in the middle of folding her clothes to look at Haruko with an unimpressed expression on her face. Haruko stared back, not understanding the expression on her face. It was a very simple question; _What are you packing for_ _?_ To which, she could just give a very simple answer but this was Koharu. There was never a simple answer with her. With another roll of her eyes, Koharu let out a huge sigh that was a giveaway that she was fed up with Haruko. "Wow, you seriously don't know. Okay. Every year, since the year before onii-chan went to Australia, we go somewhere. Where is that?"

"Oh, the U-17 camp." It finally clicked for Haruko. "That's now?"

"Yes, that's now. Actually, it's in a week. Then again, you're Kobayashi Haruko, you probably won't pack until the night before."

There was no denying the statement. Because it was true. The two sisters were the complete opposites of each other. While Koharu was loud and always full of things to talk about, Haruko was quiet and more of a listener. As meticulous as Koharu was, Haruko was sloppy. The younger would pack her suitcase immaculately and quadruple check that she had everything but the older would just throw whatever she thought she needed into the suitcase and that was that.

Instead of packing, a thought suddenly crossed Haruko's mind and she watched Koharu pack while that thought lingered. She was squatting by the suitcase awkwardly, her arms wrapped around her knees. Koharu went on her own business, not paying mind to her older sister until it got a little too uncomfortable with the silence and the staring. Koharu sighed out loud and leaned her head back, her hands stopping with the task, before looking to Haruko and waited for her to speak.

"Are you okay?" Haruko asked.

"Why wouldn't I be?"

Answering a question with another question was always a sign that one was avoiding the actual answer. They both knew what they were talking about. Koharu knew exactly why her older sister was asking if she was okay. She just did not want to answer it. Not in that sense anyway.

"I know I'm not around much to really be an older sister but you can talk to me, Koharu," Haruko said. "And I know we've been going to the U-17 camp as volunteers but it wouldn't hurt if we didn't go. The only reason why we went was because Hikaru did. And the only reason why we stayed was because they called every year asking if we were coming back to volunteer and mum and dad always say yes. I'm sure we can say no."

"We're going," Koharu reassured. "It's going to be hard but we're going. Plus, Haruka's really excited to go this year. Apparently, the camp has opened up to middle school players this year. There will be a lot of work this year with the middle school players as well, we can't abandon everyone else. I'll get through it, don't worry."

"Yeah, I'm really not good with feelings...I'll ask Haruka to hug you."

Both sisters let out a soft laugh. Haruko gave Koharu one last smile before straightening her legs to stand up. She even gave her little sister a pat on the head which was more than what she would usually do as an affectionate act. Just as she was about to leave, Koharu spoke up. "Thanks, Haruko-nee," she said, just about loud enough to be heard. "I know I act like I hate you sometimes but you're a good sister. I'm glad you're home."

"I'm glad to be home."

* * *

The sun had barely risen when the girls were setting out for the U-17 camp. Hikaru was up early to see them off, giving each of them a hug goodbye (much to the protest of a groggy Haruko) before they got onto the car with their father. The whole journey was silent, save for their father who would pipe up every so often to tell the girls that they should do their best at the camp, and that they should call home every so often so their mother would not worry. Both Koharu and Haruka, sitting at the back, fell back to sleep while Haruko kept quiet at the front.

"Take care of them, Haruko," their father said, looking to the eldest daughter. "I know there's a little wall between you and them because you're away at Osaka most of the time but they really miss having you around. Take good care of them for us, okay?"

"I will."

It was then silent for the rest of the journey. As they were coming up to the camp, as if they knew they were arriving, both Koharu and Haruka woke up. They came here every year but every single year, Haruka still felt the butterflies in her stomach seeing the place with her own eyes. She could pick out the small differences every year too, whether it was different flowers planted at a specific area or if they had new benches. But this year, she was getting butterflies for a different reason. This would be the first year that middle school players were participating. Being at this camp with her friends was something Haruka always thought of but only for when she would be in high school.

Parking the car, their father got out with the girls, helping them with their suitcases before going to greet the man who came out to meet them, Saito Itaru.

"Why, if it isn't my favourite girls?" They were greeted by a huge smile and the two men shook hands. "Don't worry about them, they're in good hands here. Oh my, look at them. Haruko, have you grown again? You'll be as tall as I am the next time I see you! And Koharu! Still the prettiest of all, I see. And my, is this really Haruka? Perhaps Haruko should share a little of her height with you?"

There was no doubt that coach Saito was the closest with the girls of all the coaches here at the camp. He doted on them like they were his own daughters, his excuse being that he had a daughter too and because he doted so much on her, it was only natural for him to dote on the Kobayashi sisters too. And while the girls were appreciative of his caring and kind actions, they also found him...annoying. He meant well, they knew, but there were times when he would come across as creepy or just awkward.

"Hm...still not very talkative, I see," coach Saito smiled. "No worries, let's get you into the camp now, shall we? With the middle school students coming, we have a lot more work to do around the camp and I would like for you to settle first before getting to work. Now, as always, you three will be on kitchen duty. That involves prepping, serving, and cleaning. But you already know that. However, there will be some adjustment to your work around the camp this year.

"Haruko, you will be taking care of anything and everything on the courts. That involves checking the equipment on the courts, making sure that there are enough balls to go around, and just the generally cleanliness. Koharu, you will be taking care of the well-being of the high school participants here at the camp. From making sure that they are attending to all their training regimes to making sure that they are well hydrated, that is all you. As for you, Haruka. Naturally, you will be taking care of the middle school participants, much like Koharu is with the older players. Now, are there any questions?"

Once again, coach Saito was met with silence. It was still early in the morning and despite catching up on some sleep in the car on the way here, the girls were still exhausted. Haruka barely slept from the buzzing excitement at the thought of being here, though she was not quite showing that excitement right now. Still, coach Saito gave them a gentle smile, leading the way to the room where the girls would be staying for their duration at the camp.

As soon as they finished unpacking, the girls were put to work. Haruka was the luckiest of the three, because the middle school students have yet to arrive. Instead of working, she decided to take a little stroll before settling herself on one of the bleachers on the main court where the high school players were already starting their day of training, staring up at the blue sky. She shut her eyes, enjoying the gentle breeze and the warmth of the sun on her skin, when the sound of bustling about and chatters disrupted her little moment of peace.

There was no mistaking that uniform; Hyotei.

That could only mean that the middle school players were starting to arrive and there was no time for Haruka to be sitting around. Getting up on her feet, Haruka put on the brightest smile she could manage, getting ready to greet the Hyotei team.

"Hello! Welcome to the U-17 camp, please come this way!"

"Oh? Aren't you Seigaku's little kitty?" Atobe asked, tilting his head slightly. Haruka blinked, staring at the captain. Did he just call her... _little kitty_? "Now that I'm looking at you up close, you're a pretty little kitty, aren't you? How about we have a little fun before your team gets here, hm?"

"That would not be necessary."

As Atobe was getting a little too close to Haruka, a hand came in between them, cutting the Hyotei captain off. Fuji, Haruka's knight in a blue and white jersey, gave Atobe a soft smile. Taking a step back, Atobe only responded with a smirk before throwing a wink at Haruka's direction to which she shivered at the sight of. Having been rescued, Haruka was finally noticing that many other middle schools had arrived. And there was a certain yellow-jersey team that she spotted not too far away though Fuji interrupted her thoughts.

"What are you doing here, Haruka?"

"Ha~ruka-chan!" As per usual, the small brunette was greeted with a hug from her classmate and best friend. It was a hug that Haruka gladly returned, with a genuine bright smile on her face while she did so. "I thought we wouldn't get to see you while at this camp. Does this mean that we'll be seeing each other everyday?"

"Since my brother started participating about four years ago, my sisters and I have been volunteering," Haruka explained. "We run errands for the camp and participants. And this year, I'm in charge of the middle school participants."

"That means you'll still be our manager, right?" Momo asked. "That's awesome! That's real awesome!"

But while the Seigaku team was soaking in the happiness of reuniting with their precious manager, and the rest of the middle schools chattering excitedly among themselves about the camp, the high school players were...irritated. They were a bunch of _kids_. None of the high school players were even remotely considered for the camp back when they were in middle school, what made this bunch so special? And as the high school players were discussing among themselves, coach Kurobe came out to get them settled.

"This year, besides the twenty first string members who are away, the second string members of two hundred and forty-six will have fifty middle school players added. I know you disapprove of their participants, but the middle school level of skills has risen quite high this year. Therefore, let us work together and aim high as the Japanese U-17 representatives. However...Three hundred members seem a little too much, says the head coach."

As he spoke, a plane flew overheard and a storm of tennis balls came raining down on them.

"Drop two hundred and fifty balls. Those without one shall be returned home immediately."

The entire camp suddenly turned frantic. Even Haruka, a volunteer at the camp, was getting caught up in all that was going on. She was being shoved about by the players who were rushing to get a ball for themselves. Conforming, despite with no reason to, Haruka found herself rushing to get a ball too. She spotted one not too far away and reached for it when a racket came over the ball. Looking up, Haruka froze.

Yukimura casually picked the ball up and held it out for Haruka with a gentle smile. It was the same smile as the one Yukimura would give her since they met seven years ago. It made Haruka's heart skip a beat. Slowly, Haruka reached out with one hand and took the ball from her childhood friend, their fingers brushing against each other as she did so. She retracted her hand quickly, looking away because there was no way she could look into his eyes without all her emotions being read.

"T-Than-"

"Haruka!"

Snapping her head in the direction of the voice, Haruka ran off before finishing her sentence, running to meet with Fuji and Eiji. Yukimura watched the girl, the smile on his face fading just a little. It had been exactly two years since he last saw her (apart from that time when he was with Hikaru). Her usual trip to Kanagawa did not go unnoticed but she kept her distance always. Only now could Yukimura see how much she had changed since they last saw each other. Her ponytail was no longer, but instead, she let her hair down and had bangs. She had grown a little taller, but she was still the tiny Haruka that he knew. He was happy to see her happy, but there was something about seeing her happy with someone else that irked Yukimura.

"Nice to see you again, Haru..."


	4. Chapter 4

_Reviews would be appreciated~_

* * *

 **Sun And Sunflower**

 **Yukimura x OC, Tokugawa x OC, Tanegashima x OC**

 **Chapter Four**

In the midst of all the chaos, all the participating middle school players were in possession of a tennis ball (or more). Those without a ball that held their future at the camp were only high school players. Panic was starting to set in as they were all coming to realise that they were to be kicked out of the camp. This was a place they worked hard to get into, even harder so they could stay. How ridiculous would it be to be sent home all because they could not get to a tennis ball fast enough?

"Hey, you're not a player."

It always amazed Haruka how sharp someone could be in times of desperation. One of the high school players happened to be looking in her direction, noticing the tennis ball that Yukimura had so kindly given her. A tennis ball that Haruka _did not need_. And the way he was looking at her was...terrifying. He was desperate. So were all the others who did not have a ball and they were all now staring at the ball in Haruka's hand now that their attention had been brought over. Out of fear, Haruka gripped onto the ball tightly, hiding it behind her back. She knew she should give it up, give the chance to stay in the camp to someone. But the moment she was to hand the ball over, there would be chaos. There was no one specific person she could give it to. Not to mention that those without a ball could only mean that they were not good enough. Being able to stay, but not because of your own abilities; that was not something to be proud of.

"Oi, give it here, brat."

"Why do you get it? Give it to me!"

"I saw it first!"

"Hey, brat, give it here before I have to pry it from you."

More and more high school players were demanding the ball from Haruka. And as they were crowding closer and closer, both Fuji and Eiji stepped in front of their friend, protecting her. Petrified, Haruka gripped onto the back of Fuji's jersey, hiding completely behind him. She did not want to give the ball to any of them, not when they were demanding so rudely. Though, with the way things were looking, she was starting to think that perhaps giving it up was the best choice.

Just as she was about to tell Fuji, she was yanked from behind by her collar, making her scream. She was thrown onto the ground roughly, big hands grabbing at her much smaller one, attempting to pry the ball off her. Before they succeeded, whoever threw her onto the ground was slammed on the ground themselves. Yukimura stood by Haruka, offering his hand to help her up. As she took his hand, he pulled her up with ease before shoving her behind him, staring down the high school player who assaulted the girl.

Now, formality was something that Yukimura never disregarded. There was always a respect there for someone older than he was. But this was someone who put their hands on Haruka. Yukimura was not the only person riled up; Sanada moved before he did, grabbing the high school player and slamming him down.

"We don't put our hands on girls, no matter how desperate you are, _senpai_." Anyone could hear the spite in Yukimura's tone. And the piercing glare coming from the Rikkai captain was more than enough to make the high school player quiver underneath Sanada, making him scurry away as soon as Sanada let him go. "Are you alright, Haru?" Yukimura asked. Haruka could only nod. The trauma of being assaulted was so petrifying that the fact Yukimura called her by the nickname only he used went right over her head. Gently, Yukimura placed his hand on her arm, startling Haruka. "It's okay," he hushed, his hand gliding down her arm to take the ball from her hand. "I'll keep this for you."

"Haruka-chan!"

"Are you okay, Haruka?" Fuji asked, looking to Yukimura. "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

There was something that Fuji could not quite put his finger on. In such a situation, anyone would help Haruka. Fuji and the rest of Seigaku aside, it was not hard to see that some of the middle school students reacted to the assault. But no one was as quick as Sanada and Yukimura. Not even Kenya, the speed star of Naniwa, was fast enough. Or was it the way Yukimura looked at the brunette? The way he spoke to her? Or was it the fact that Yukimura used a nickname no one ever called Haruka by?

While the situation was dying down, Inui was quick to point out to the high school players that there was, in fact, one more tennis ball left in the far corner of the courts. And like vultures, they were all flocking to the one untouched ball, all determined to be the one person with a chance to stay. But of course, there was no such luck. Using a racket to first claim the ball, it was then swooped up into the air and landed in the hands of none other than Echizen Ryoma himself.

"Hey, what's up?"

"No, not 'what's up'. How dare you disappear all of a sudden?"

"Ochibi~!"

"We were so worried, Echizen! You disappeared so suddenly after the Nationals!"

"Probability that Echizen was called here, one hundred and twenty percent."

"Welcome back!"

The rookie of Seigaku who took the world of middle school tennis by a storm made a surprise appearance at the camp, causing a wave of murmuring among the middle school students. Most were excited to see freshman, looking forward to a possible match with him. But the chatters among them was irritating the high school students further. How dare they act so carefree? How dare they make it seem like participating in the camp was such an easy feat?

"OI! You brats! How dare you pick all the balls? And that brat over there isn't even a participant! Give her ball here!"

" **Will those without a ball please leave as soon as possible. This was the head coach's orders.** "

Coach Kurobe's voice boomed through the speakers, silencing the commotion going on down at the courts. The U-17 camp had always been, and always would been, a place of no tolerance for weakness. If anyone should know, it would be the high school players. Without a ball, they _really_ had to leave. But none of them was willing to leave in such a way. Especially not when _all_ the middle school students could stay. Some were prepared to leave, but most was not willing.

"Picking up a tennis ball has nothing to do with tennis!" Sasabe stated. "So let's settle this the right way; with a tennis match. Anyone up for the challenge? Anyone willing to stake their ball? How about you, four-eyes?"

Despite the confusion over which 'four-eyes' he was referring to, Sasabe's attention was soon diverted to someone who so bravely volunteered himself. And it was none other than the mischievous freshman of Seigaku (who borrowed a pair of glasses off someone). A ripple of laughter washed over the high school students, thinking it to be hilarious and pathetic that a 'kid' had came out to challenge.

Slowly, one by one, the middle school players were getting interested in these matches and were volunteering to play. Not remotely interested in the matches, Fuji saw this as a chance to talk to Haruka. He tugged at her elbow, getting the brunette's attention first before indicating to the side where they could be somewhat alone. As they moved off to the side, Yukimura could not help but notice how the two broke off together.

"Are you okay, Haruka?" Fuji asked.

"Better now," Haruka replied, rubbing against her wrist as she spoke. Fuji looked down to her hand before putting a hand on her head. "Shu-kun?"

"Did you know that when you're nervous or upset, you rub your wrists?" At the mention of her habit, Haruka immediately stopped, putting her hands behind her back. Fuji let out a soft chuckle before bending down to her level and opened his eyes, revealing his bright blue eyes. "You're safe now, don't worry about it." With his reassurance, Haruka relaxed a little. What happened caught them all by surprise but Haruka was pretty sure that Fuji would never let it happen again. In fact, a lot of people here would make sure it never happened again.

"I know."

With a gentle smile, Fuji gave a gentle pat on her head. As he straightened himself, from the corner of his eyes, he managed to catch a glance of Yukimura looking their way. The two boys' eyes met but neither of them was backing down from the stare down. And in that moment, both boys suddenly felt that there was a rivalry going on between them. It was entirely different to the rivalry between their schools. This was _personal_.

"Enough!" The silent rivalry was disrupted as someone at the top shouted at those on the courts. "This is a disgrace! Those without a ball should have gone home already. This is disgraceful and pollutes the air." Whoever he was, it was clear that he had a lot of authority over the high school students as they were starting to disperse without another word of protest.

"I'm sorry, but personal matches are prohibited here." There were two others and one of them spoke up, explaining the rule of the camp. "You see, here at the U-17 camp, everyone is separated according to their skills and strength by courts; court one to court sixteen. The lower the number, the stronger the players. Everyday, before morning practice, there are shuffle matches. In order to move up a court, you would have to win said matches. You win, you move up a court. You lose, you move down."

"And what court are you guys from?"

"Nice to meet you all, I am Irie Kanata, court three."

"Oni, court five."

"What about you? Let's have a ma-"

Although asking for a match, Kirihara was soon frozen on the spot when he approached the last of the three who came to stop the matches. "Do you want to go home?" That was all he said, freeing his elbow from Kirihara's grip before walking off without so much as another glance at any of them. Irie observed from the side, walking up to Kirihara with a soft smile.

"Tokugawa Kazuya, court one," he informed. "Haruka-chan, I think it's about time they have a tour and a rest."

Having been picked out suddenly, Haruka felt a little embarrassed and Fuji only made it worse when he nudged her from behind, making her take a few steps forward and come into view of everyone. Instantly, Haruka shot a glare over her shoulder to which Fuji only smiled. Irie let out a soft chuckle, giving the small brunette a wink before he turned on his heel, following after the other two.

Now that she was left alone with the middle school players, Haruka felt awkward. This was the first time she had to deal with such a large group at the camp. Sure she knew a handful of them, but she was suddenly faced with a new challenge. It did not help that she was much smaller than most of them (Ryoma and Kintaro seemed to be the only ones shorter than she was) so to boost her confidence, Haruka straightened herself, trying to look as tall as she could.

"Hello and welcome to the U-17 camp. My name is Kobayashi Haruka, a volunteer here at the camp, and this year, I have been assigned to taking care of you. First of all, I would like to congratulate you on managing to stay here. I will be taking you around for a tour around the camp and will be taking you to the dorm shortly after. If there is anything you need or would like to know, please do not hesitate to let me know!"

There was only silence.

Until Ryoma broke it with a snicker.

Haruka immediately narrowed her eyes on the freshman. "What are you laughing at, Shorty-Ryo?" Instantly, Ryoma stopped and similarly, narrowed his eyes on her. The two were never on good terms with each other, always bickering like siblings. Haruka hated the disrespecting on Ryoma's side (it was really just teasing here and there) while Ryoma hated the nickname she had decided on for him. "I do not appreciate it. And let me remind you now, please do not cause another spectacle like you did just now again."

"You were the one who caused quite a ruckus, if I remember correctly," Ryoma pointed out.

"You brat..."

"Haruka."

"Alright. Fine. I'll let you go for now. Please follow me!"

* * *

The tour consisted of showing the middle school players what facilities were available here at the camp, other places that they could visit (such as the café), and eventually, they were brought to the dorm where they would be staying for the duration of the camp. With a clipboard in her hand, Haruka was reading off the list, sending people into their assigned rooms.

"In room two-o-two are Chitose-san, Yanagi-san, Inui-san, and Mizuki-san. In room two-o-one are Shiraishi-san, Sei-Yukimura-san, and Shu-kun. And that's everyone. You have the rest of the night to settle in and rest before your practice starts tomorrow. Dinner will be at the cafeteria that we went to on the tour and will be served in about...half an hour. That's everything for now. Please do not hesitate to call for me if there is anything you need."

"Who's Shu-kun?" Kenya asked.

"That...would be my brother," Yuuta replied.

"She was totally going to call the captain by his name," Marui pointed out.

Haruka's cheeks was starting to burn red as people were starting to expose her. She had the habit of giving someone a nickname; she rarely ever called someone by their name. Fuji had always been 'Shu-kun' and everyone in Seigaku knew. It was just the fact of having someone point it out that made it embarrassing. Not to mention that Marui had picked up on the fact that she was so close to letting Yukimura's nickname slip. All she wanted was to get out of there.

"See you later, Haru."

Yukimura's last comment just as she was walking off was what did it for Haruka. His tone was clearly one of teasing. With her hands pressed to her cheeks to cover the blush, Haruka ran off as fast as she could while some of the boys were making fun of her. Yukimura let out a soft laugh, shaking his head. There were still some things that was the same with her. After his fun, Yukimura headed for his room but once again, met Fuji's stare. The two stood just outside the door to their shared room, blocking the entrance for Shiraishi.

"Seems like you're quite close to Haruka, Yukimura-kun. Did you know each other before? I know she transferred from Rikkai, but I didn't think that she would be associated with you in any ways. After all, she never mentioned you."

"You seem to be rather close to Haru yourself, though that is to be expected since you go to the same school. However, Haru and I are childhood friends. Had been since we were seven. You would be surprised with a lot of things regarding Haru. And a true friendship need not to be mentioned every day of our lives to everyone we meet. It does not make it any less of a friendship."

"Oh really? Then she must have kept in touch with you since her transfer? I think you are mistaken, Yukimura-kun. _You_ would be the one surprised with a lot of things regarding _Haruka_. After all, three years is a lot of time to change someone."

"I am never mistaken, Fuji-kun. _Haru_ is a special girl. She is always surprising, no matter how often you are around her."

"Can we um...go in now?" Shiraishi asked awkwardly, looking to and fro between the two. Neither of them was backing down, just like the staring contest they had back on the court. Shiraishi was already worrying about the fact that they had to share a room but these two seemed to be fighting with each other and they have yet to set foot in the room. "You know, standing out here isn't going to make Kobayashi-san choose either of you so how about we go in and get along with each other?"

They only replied in smiles as they stepped aside, allowing Shiraishi into the room first before walking in themselves.

* * *

A huge sigh escaped from Koharu as she placed the huge laundry basket down, stocking up the shelves with freshly washed and folded towels. All day, since their arrival at the camp, she had been running around working. It started with changing the sheets in the dorm rooms, then checking off the high school players to make sure that they were all where they were supposed to be, and eventually it led to doing the laundry. She barely had any rest; the tiredness from a full day's work was really catching up to her. Another huge sigh came from her as she murmured, telling herself that she would be done after this task. Koharu was really starting to envy her little sister. All she had to do was show the middle school students around.

As she was stacking the towels carefully on the shelves, Koharu was coming to realise that even with her height, there was a place that she could not reach. There was nothing in her immediate vicinity that could help boost her height either so she resorted to going on her tiptoes, trying to push the stack of towels onto the shelf. A hand came from behind and easily pushed the towels in for her. As she turned around to thank her saviour, Koharu froze.

"Oh my, two Kobayashi sisters in a day. Maybe I should try my luck with the lottery if I run into the last one." Irie greeted Koharu with a smile to which she only nodded in response. Irie looked from Koharu to Tokugawa who helped her with the towels before looking back to the girl with another smile, though this had a different meaning behind it. "Why don't the two of you just kiss it out?"

Koharu stiffened at the comment. She grabbed the empty laundry basket and pushed past the two tennis players, running off. Tokugawa stared after her, breathing in deep and slowly letting the breath out. Awkward encounters as such was ones they would not be able to avoid. Tokugawa knew that. So did Koharu. This was what Haruko asked about before coming to the camp. Koharu thought she could handle it. She thought wrong. She thought she could forget everything that happened and just pretend like there was nothing between them to begin with. But she could not. Seeing him again, it brought back memories. Painful memories.

 _This is for Haruka_ , she kept telling herself. _Haruka is happy here because her friends are here. If we leave because you're a coward who runs away from your problems, then Haruka would get upset. Think of your little sister, Koharu...think of your little sister_.

"Oi."

Fortunately, Koharu managed to stop just in time before she crashed into Haruko who was on the same path as her, going the other direction. Pushing her hair behind her ear, Koharu was trying to pretend nothing happened but if there was anything she was particular bad at, it was pretending. That was something both Koharu and Haruka had in common. They were both open books.

"What's up?" Haruko asked. "And don't even pretend it's nothing because by now, you would be lecturing me about how it's rude to greet someone with 'oi'."

"I don't want to talk about it."

Seven words. Small words. But when they were put together and coming from Koharu, the elder Kobayashi knew what was going on. "Alright, well, Haruka's waiting for us at the cafeteria. Dinner is about to be served and we gotta be there. I have one last task to do so I'll join you guys later." Koharu nodded, starting to make her way to the cafeteria when Haruko grabbed her arm. "You want me to talk to Saito about swapping duties with you?"

"It's okay...I can handle it."

"Alright...well, if you need help, let me know."


	5. Chapter 5

_Reviews would be appreciated~_

* * *

 **Sun And Sunflower**

 **Yukimura x OC, Tokugawa x OC, Tanegashima x OC**

 **Chapter Five**

 _Sigh_...

That was the fifth sigh Haruka let out while standing in front of the bulletin board, staring at the list of shuffle matches that was updated that morning. She never really paid attention to the list before because well...it never concerned her. But there was one particular name that caught her attention this time round. Well, two names. Both of which, she was extremely familiar with. Oni Jujiro, third year high school student, currently a participant at the camp on court five. Haruka was not particularly acquainted with Oni but he was one of a handful who took good care of the Kobayashi sisters during their stays at the camp. To her, he was that uncle they would never see until New Year's yet he still doted on them with gifts as if to make up for the times they missed out on.

The other name was right next to Oni's, meaning he was the high school player's opponent. _Momoshiro Takeshi_. Second year student at Seigaku, Haruka saw him more often than she did Oni (whom she had known for a longer period of time). It was hard not to like Momoshiro; he was always so full of energy and so kind. And although he was a year younger, there were times when Haruka felt like he was an older brother to her. Seigaku had come to be like a family to her and seeing Momoshiro against Oni in a shuffle match was more worrying than anything right now.

Something cold was suddenly pressed against the back of Haruka's neck, making her shiver and jump at the same time. Fuji chuckled at her reaction, offering her the bottle of cold orange juice that he teased her with. Though, when Haruka refused the offer, Fuji knew instantly that something was bothering her.

"What's wrong, Haruka?"

Instead of verbally replying, Haruka pointed to the bulletin board where the list was pinned onto. Fuji raised an eyebrow before looking to the board himself, instantly catching Momoshiro's name.

"Looks like our Momo will be playing in a shuffle match today. But why do you look like that? Isn't it a good thing? If Momo wins, he'll be able to move up to a higher court." Once again, Haruka pointed to the board but this time, she made sure that Fuji could see the one specific name that she was pointing to. "Oni...he was one of the three from yesterday, wasn't he?"

"Oni-oji is from court five," Haruka sighed. "I'm just worried about Momo-chan."

"Do you believe in Momo?" Fuji asked, tilting his head slightly to the side.

"I do."

"Then there's nothing to worried about," he smiled.

Of course, Fuji had no idea who Oni was and what he was capable of. But Haruka did. That was the reason why she was worried. With his words of comfort, however, Haruka gave Fuji a soft smile and nodded, taking the bottle of orange juice before walking off with her good friend, getting onto the court and sitting on the bleachers by the side. As they were waiting for the shuffle matches to begin, Haruka found herself looking around for a specific person.

"None of the Rikkai members are here yet but I'm sure they would be soon," Fuji informed. "He was not there in the morning though, he left before I woke."

"W-who are you talking about? I wasn't looking for anybody."

"You're a very bad liar," Fuji chuckled. "He's here."

Sure enough, Yukimura was coming to watch the shuffle match between Momoshiro and Oni with the rest of Rikkai following behind him. The aura about Yukimura was definitely different to everyone else. With his usual style of his jersey jacket hanging on his shoulders, Yukimura walked up to the first row of bleachers, talking to Sanada as he did.

Haruka was brought back to reality when everyone else started cheering for Momoshiro as his match with Oni was about to begin. There was something about not being in the nationals that united all of the middle school players. The people who were against them throughout the year was now standing on their side, cheering for someone they once swore to beat on the court. Haruka got right into the spirit of cheering on her underclassman despite having her worries before. Fuji was right. She should believe in Momoshiro.

But as she had predicted, the match was painful to watch.

The difference between a middle school and a high school player was obvious. As the gatekeepers of hell (or so they called him), Oni was going easy on Momoshiro either, hitting his 'Black Jack Knife' over and over again. And it was only getting progressively worse for Momoshiro, especially since he was not listening to anyone. Not even his upperclassmen who were repeatedly telling him that it was okay if he gave up on the match. But Momoshiro had something to prove. He knew, they all did, that none of the high school players approved of their arrival at the camp. They did not think that they were good enough. And while this match was only proving further that they were definitely not on par, Momoshiro was not backing out from it. He was not adding coward to the labels they were giving the middle school players.

No matter how strong Momoshiro's will was, there was just no fighting against Oni and the match ended, as expected, in Oni's complete victory. And it was through this match that the middle school players were slowly understanding that it was all the coach's intention to humble them a little.

* * *

"Ugh.."

Arms stretched up to the sky, back arched, and Haruko let out a satisfied groan. While Haruka was enjoying a slow morning, watching the shuffle matches, Haruko had already delivered six crates of tennis balls to different courts across the camp that were about to begin their practice. She was really starting to feel the fatigue coming on despite the day having just started not too long ago. It was typical of Saito, to arrange for her to have the most physically demanding tasks out of the three sisters. _You are taller! You are stronger! You do the best job!_ Those were his exact words whenever she would complain so there was really no talking to him. Ever. Then again, there was no arguing against his logic either. Koharu was the princess of the family. While she was willing to do some simple errands, anything too physically demanding was just impossible for her. And while Haruka had the heart, she did not have the physique.

 _Hoo~_

While she was deep in her own thoughts, hot breath was suddenly blown on her ear and Haruko jumped, swinging a punch backwards at whoever it was. Tanegashima dodged her punch just in time, stopping her first with his hand before grinning at her. All while he was still balancing on the Segway. "Good mornin', Lil Spring." Of course it was Tanegashima. With a roll of her eyes, Haruko ignored the tennis player and continued walking, getting straight back to work. But Tanegashima followed closely behind. Despite wanting to run away, Haruko knew it was almost impossible. Firstly, he was on a Segway. And even without the aide of the Segway, with his longer legs, it would not take Tanegashima much effort to run after her. "Ya 'sposed to greet someone back when they greet ya a good mornin', Lil Spring."

"You're supposed to get someone's name right after they have told you a million times."

"Does that mean if I get yer name right, ya gonna say good mornin' to me?"

"Goodbye, Tanegashima."

Haruko had no time for his nonsense. She hated seeing his face. It was that smile of his. That...bright smile. How could someone live their life so carefree? And why did he find joy in annoying her? Since the very first day he joined the camp, Tanegashima was fascinated with Haruko for some reason. And he had been a constant pain in her neck ever since, though Haruko had given up trying to get rid of him by now. She did, however, learn to ignore him.

"Don't you have practice anyway?" Haruko asked.

With a camp as strict as this, it was surprising that a participant could be roaming around the campus on a Segway with no practice to be heading to. If one player so much as strayed from their schedule (sometimes even with reasons), they would be booted.

"Oh wow, I didn't think ya the type to care 'bout me like that, Lil Spring."

"Yeah, I don't care about you. You're just in my way."

Blunt and hurtful as she was being, Tanegashima was not affected in one bit. That was another thing about him that irked Haruko. Most people would have taken the hint by now that she did not like them and would do their best to keep their distance. But insult after insult and she was still finding Tanegashima by her side. Koharu had lectured her on this many times before. _He's just being nice_ , her little sister stated, _so why can't you be nice too_? Because this was Tanegashima...

"Then let's play 'Look Over There'. If ya win, I won't bother ya for the rest of the camp. But if I win, ya hafta greet me good mornin' everyday."

It was not a bad proposal. Tempting, even. Play a game, and if she won, Tanegashima was going to leave her alone for the rest of her stay at the camp. That condition itself was more tempting than any Grand Slam titles or money in the world. And subsequently, the losing condition was not too bad. It was just a simple 'good morning' that she had to greet him with everyday. Not to mention that the game 'Look Over There' was just a childhood game that everyone played. There was no skills to it. She was willing to bet on it.

"Alright. Two out of three."

"Alright!" Tanegashima grinned. "Look over there~"

He pointed to Haruko's left and she looked up. Tanegashima blinked, taken back with the fact that Haruko had so easily won a game. This was a game that Tanegashima never lost because he was extremely good at predicting flawlessly the other person's movement in an instant. Most people would have little habits like looking in the direction they intended for before moving. It was those habits that Tanegashima looked out for but he saw none of it in Haruko. There was not even a little twitch or a blink.

This was something new for Tanegashima.

"What are you staring at?" Haruko asked. "Come on, one more game and I'm gonna win."

"Look over there~"

Once again, Tanegashima pointed to the left but Haruko looked to the right. That was two games in a row and Haruko won the bet. She smirked and walked off without another or even a look at the model. Tanegashima was frozen on the spot, unable to grasp the concept of losing at 'Look Over There'. But when he finally came to, he could smirk as he watched Haruko walked away with almost a spring to her steps.

She was definitely interesting.

* * *

"Kobayashi-san!"

Turning at the call of her name, Koharu tilted her head slightly at the person who approached her. She had seen his face around the camp before though she did not know his name. She politely presented him with a smile although Koharu knew where this was going. This was a familiar scene that Koharu had been through many times before, be it at this camp or at school. It would sound cocky if she said it out loud, but Koharu was getting tired of these confessions. Sometimes, she would just like to get through the day without some guy calling out to her to ask her out.

"Hi there," Koharu smiled. "Is there something I can help you with?"

"I was wondering if you would be free this Saturday? If you are, I was thinking maybe we could go to the movies? Have dinner too."

Typical kind of date. How many of those had Koharu been on before? And they were all the same. While she was not interested at all, Koharu had to find the best way possible to let him down. Just as she was about to reject the guy, Irie and Tokugawa were walking towards them. And in the spur of the moment, Koharu said something that she did not mean to. "Of course!" she smiled. "I would love to. I'll meet you by the gates on Saturday night then."

"Really? Awesome! I'll see you Saturday night!"

"Still popular as always, I see," Irie smiled, walking up to Koharu. Tokugawa stood by them, though his attention was on the guy who just asked Koharu out and was now jogging away happily. Irie glanced up to the younger before returning his attention to Koharu. "If I got here a second earlier, perhaps I would be the one going out with you this Saturday night." With that statement, Tokugawa looked to his upperclassman with a frown. Was Irie being serious or was this his acting again?

"You're so funny, Irie-senpai," Koharu giggled. She could not help herself as she glanced up to Tokugawa, wanting to see what his reaction was. But there was nothing except for the same old stoic expression he always wore. "I always thought Haruka was more your type."

"Hm...you're right, Haruka-chan is more my type. But I thought your type had always been...tall guys?" Irie asked. It was obvious that Irie was teasing her when he looked up to Tokugawa when he said 'tall guys'. Koharu opened her mouth though it was not long before she shut her mouth as she mumbled about having to get back to her work and ran off. Irie chuckled and shook his head, looking to Tokugawa. "You have a scary expression on your face right now, Tokugawa. No wonder Koharu-chan ran off."

"What are you talking about?"

"Ah...you're so clueless," Irie sighed, shaking his head once more.

Across the camp, on the courts, the middle school players were finally undergoing the vigorous training that the high school players did on a daily basis. Most of them were way past exhaustion but they were barely done with the schedule. Being the caretaker of the players, Haruka went on a round of distributing water bottles as they were finally allowed on a break. As she got to Yukimura, that was when Haruka's heart started to beat a little faster. Her face was bright red as she approached him, handing him a water bottle.

Only when she was this close to Yukimura did she realise that he was so much taller. When they met at seven, Haruka was taller than he was. Not by much, but she remembered being so upset when one day, Yukimura showed up taller than she was. He had always teased her, from their very first day of middle school together, about how small she was. He was not much taller than her then, but now, he stood a good head and a half taller. The child-like features she had remembered of his were no longer there either. Instead, he looked much more mature than the last time she had a proper look at him.

"Is something the matter, Haru?" Yukimura asked.

"N-nothing," Haruka replied, turning to leave after she was caught staring. She was pretty sure she was red as a tomato too; all the more reason for her to leave. But Yukimura was quick to catch her by the elbow and turned her around with his face inches away from hers. The distance between was not helping the case at all as Haruka felt her cheeks heating up and her heart beating so fast that one might mistake her being on a caffeine overdose.

"Your face is extremely red. Are you sure?"

When Yukimura pressed the back of his hand against her forehead, Haruka could not help but notice that despite having not seen each other for almost three years, despite the physical changes, he was still so gentle with her. It was this physical touch that made Haruka realise just how much she missed him. Three years was a long time for not getting in contact with someone, pretending as if they were never friends to begin with. Subconsciously, Haruka reached up and grabbed Yukimura's hand. Even his hand was so much bigger than hers now.

"Haru?"

"S-sorry," Haruka mumbled, letting go of his hand instantly.

"You can hold my hand if you want, Haru," Yukimura smiled, holding his hand out for her.

If it was possible for Haruka to get any redder, she was pretty sure she would. Yukimura was teasing, she knew. His tone of voice was always slightly different whenever he was teasing and over the years, she had picked it up. Before she could succumb to his teasing, however, Haruka was suddenly yanked away, dragged off by the collar of her shirt. Yukimura blinked, staring after the girl with a small smile on his face as he watched Haruka struggling against her sister.

Having ran off from Irie and Tokugawa, Koharu found herself near the courts where the middle school players were training. That meant that Haruka would be around. At that thought, Koharu went to those courts looking for her little sister. It was not hard to spot the middle school players because while there were only fifty of them, they were all clad in their respective jerseys instead of the U-17 camp's own uniformed jersey. They stuck out like a sore thumb from a mile away. But Haruka stuck out the most. She was small but it was not hard to spot the tiny girl zipping in and out through the crowd of tennis players, handing out water bottles.

As Koharu was walking up to Haruka, she watched as the interaction between Yukimura and her little sister unfolded. That was the guy, was it not? The one whom Haruka never talked about but went to Kanagawa for visits. He touched Haruka's forehead as if he was checking to see if she had a fever and before then, Haruka's face was already red. Watching the way he smiled at her sparked the jealous in Koharu. Why did Haruka get to enjoy the guy of her dreams being so nice and gentle with her when all Koharu ever got was an expressionless face? Why did Haruka get to be by the side of him when Koharu had to run away?

Out of jealousy, Koharu quickened her pace and grabbed Haruka by the collar, dragging her little sister away. It was not until when Haruka finally broke free from Koharu's grip did the older sister realise what she did.

"Koharu-nee!" Haruka frowned. "What did you do that for? My neck hurts..."

"Sorry..." There really was no reason apart from the fact that she was jealous. But it was not like Koharu could tell Haruka the truth... "There's something I need to ask you. Are you free Saturday night?" she asked. She had to make something up as an excuse for dragging Haruka away and the only thing that popped in mind was that date she promised to go on to make Tokugawa jealous. "I um...kind of promised someone I would go on a date with him..."

"Wait, what?" Haruka raised a brow. "I'm not going on the date for you."

"Yeah...I thought so. But I was thinking of a double date, actually. Find someone to go on a date with you and we can double date. It would be less awkward with you there."

"Why did you say yes to a date when you didn't want to go?" Haruka asked. "And who am I going to ask to go on a double date with me?"

"That guy you were talking to just now. He's the Kanagawa guy, right?"

"Sei-kun? I-I can't..."

"Sei? Oh! Yukimura Seiichi! Your little play date, right? You should definitely ask him."

"I can't!"

"Then...Ah, the one you go to school with. What was the name again...Fuji!"

"Why can't you ask Haruko-nee instead?"

"Who do you think would go on a date with Haruko-nee? Any guy she had not scared off is already afraid of her to begin with," Koharu sighed. "Please, Haruka, I'm begging you. Please?"

"Alright...I'll think about it."


	6. Chapter 6

_Reviews would be appreciated~_

* * *

 **Sun And Sunflower**

 **Yukimura x OC, Tokugawa x OC, Tanegashima x OC**

 **Chapter Six**

When Haruka said she would think about it, she did not think that her older sister would have taken her answer as a confirmation. Saturday night came along but Haruka was still without a date, much to Koharu's disappointment. She was _not_ going on the date alone with that guy. Shoving her little sister down the hallway of the second floor in the dorm, Koharu hid around the corner as she watched Haruka walking all the way down to room 201. It had now been at least ten minutes since she had been standing outside the room. Each time she raised her hand to knock on the door, however, Haruka chickened out and turned to leave. But Koharu would poke her head round the corner and send a glare, making her turn around once more. Why did Koharu have to say yes to a date when she did not want to go on one? Why did she have to pick Haruka to go on a double date with her? Why did she not cancel the date instead?

Facing the door once more, a sigh came from her. There was still the problem of _who_ she was going to ask. Koharu was no help in that department ( _just choose whoever_ , was what she said exactly). Logically, she would ask Fuji. If she explained the situation, he would understand and help her without second thoughts. Though, she would have to endure his teasing for a long while after. But if she was to treat this like a proper date, she wanted to ask Yukimura. Not that she would be able to bring herself to though, so perhaps Fuji it was.

Just as she was about to knock, the door suddenly opened itself and in the midst of her panicking, Haruka turned to leave. Seeing her little sister running away, Koharu kept signalling for her to go back but it was not long before whoever came out from the room noticed her and called out to her. Haruka cringed, stopping midway and slowly turned back around with the most awkward smile on her face. It was typical of her luck to have all three of whom residing in the room coming out at the same time. There was definitely no way now that she could ask what she came to ask.

"What are you doing here, Haruka?" Fuji asked.

"No-nothing. I um...I'm just going to go now. Goodnight!"

"You're lying."

Both Yukimura and Fuji spoke up at the same time. They instantly looked to each other while Shiraishi took more of a backseat, enjoying as the scene was unfolding before him. That was something Haruka hated the most about both Yukimura and Fuji. They both knew her well, so well that they knew exactly when she was lying. Yukimura had always been quick to point out whenever she tried to pass a lie with him but Fuji almost always let it slip, except for when he wanted to tease her. This was one of those moments, possibly.

"Haru, tell the truth."

"I...never mind. It doesn't matter."

"Of course it matters!"

Storming down the hallway was Koharu who had been patiently waiting in hiding the whole time but she could not wait any longer. The three boys were all surprised to see Koharu and subconsciously, they stood side by side neatly, straightening their backs a little. Not only was she Haruka's older sister, but she was an upperclassman too. Either way, they wanted to leave a good impression. Koharu grabbed Haruka by the shoulders before looking up at the boys. She recognised Yukimura from earlier in the day but the other two, she had no impression of them.

"Here's the deal," Koharu started, despite Haruka's protest. By now, this was pure amusement for all three of them to see the youngest Kobayashi struggling to stop whatever it was her older sister came to say. "Haruka needs one of you to go on a date with her tonight. It's going to be a double date. So it would be much appreciated if one of you could go. Otherwise...I would have to ask our older sister and she is not fun to be around."

"Oh? Who were you going to ask?" Shiraishi asked.

Both Yukimura and Fuji were suddenly very interested, for personal reasons. It had to be between them, but the question here was, _who was it_? Haruka stared at them, her mouth opened but no words were coming out. She looked from Yukimura to Fuji and repeated it several times, still unable to make her mind up. Why did Koharu have to spill everything and make her choose in front of them?

Unexpectedly, the one person who rescued her from having to choose was the exact person who threw her the question. "How about we all go since you can't choose?" Shiraishi asked. Haruka's face brightened instantly, Koharu's more so. If they all went, it would be more like a group of friends hanging out instead of a date. That was the whole reason behind her suggesting a double date with Haruka. This was right up her alley. "But is it alright with Kobayashi-senpai? This is your date, after all."

"Of course it is!" Koharu grinned. "Let's go then! My date is waiting for me."

The group was suddenly moving, going on a sudden date together. And it seemed as if Koharu did not inform her date that there would be others joining them, explaining that he only bought tickets for him and Koharu both for the movies. To which, Koharu simply said they could change the plans before leading the group somewhere into the bush near the gate.

Although a little confused, the trio of room 201 still followed behind. There, Koharu revealed a hole in the fence. "Don't look at me like that," Koharu said. "We're not exactly allowed to leave the camp but none of us really listens. Everyone sneaks out this way," she grinned. "Come on, hurry up before the security guard comes this way."

"Oh my, what's going on here?" Everyone froze at the voice. They slowly turned around to see Saito standing on the other side of the bushes, smiling down at them. Both Koharu and Haruka knew that the smile on his face was more menacing than it was meant to be polite. Saito did not say anything else, he waited for them to come out of the bushes, standing in front of him. He looked at each of them, still keeping his smile as he did. "Sneaking out of camp at this hour? Amano, I expected much more from you as an upperclassman. As for you, Koharu and Haruka, you should know the rules of the camp better than anyone. Alright, as punishment, all players will run fifty laps. Koharu and Haruka, I'll give you a little discount, twenty-five laps. Don't even think about slacking off, I'll be sending someone to monitor you."

Koharu was the only one who let out groans of protest while everyone else was already moving. Haruka did not protest verbally but as she was following after the rest of them, she glared at her sister. If it was not for Koharu, she would not be in this situation. If Koharu did not insist on her going on this date as well, she would not have been caught sneaking out and punished.

They started running the punishment laps around the main courts and by the second or third lap, the monitor Saito sent made an appearance. Standing at the top of the stairs was Tokugawa, keeping his eyes on one particular person. It did not take long before Irie joined Tokugawa. "So this is what you talked about with coach Saito?" Irie asked. "You never cared about people sneaking out before. I wonder what got you caring about rules breaker all of a sudden."

As per usual, Tokugawa kept quiet. But they both knew, even without him saying, it was all because of _her_.

"I can't do this..." Haruka groaned, running to the side, catching her breath. "I still have fifteen more to do...Koharu-nee! This is all your fault!"

"Come on now, less talk, more run," Fuji said, pulling Haruka back onto the tracks and ran behind her with his hands on her back, pushing her along.

"Someone...push me...too...I...am...dying..."

It took another half an hour before the group finished their laps. Exhausted from running, they stuck around on the tracks for a while longer, to calm their breaths. Yukimura and Fuji were sitting side by side on the ground, Shiraishi and Haruka were both leaning against the wall just opposite while Koharu laid on the tracks in the middle. Both girls were not regular exercisers and having to run twenty-five laps suddenly really exhausted them as they were both slowly falling asleep. As she was dozing off, Haruka's head started falling onto Shiraishi's shoulder.

Like hunters with their eyes on the target, Yukimura and Fuji glanced over to Shiraishi, who was too fascinated with the fact that Haruka could sleep in such an environment to notice the hawk-like stares. But just as they were about to get up to carry Haruka, Irie and Tokugawa came down the stairs; Irie with a smile on his face and his hands in his pockets.

"Since you've finished with your laps, you're allowed to head back to your rooms," Irie said, his eyes glancing over to the peacefully sleeping Haruka. None of the trio moved but Koharu's supposed date took this chance to run off. "We'll take care of Haruka-chan and Koharu-chan." Instantly, the hawk-like stares transferred onto Irie, especially when he moved to pick Haruka up in his arms. Shiraishi kept a protective arm over the girl. Irie was an upperclassman but he was not someone they knew. Despite not knowing Haruka well, Shiraishi was not going to let some strange guy take her away either. "What scary looks you all have on your face. Only a princess is fitting to have so many knights protecting her," Irie chuckled. "No worries, I know Haruka-chan well. We will take them both back to their room."

"We'll take them back," Fuji stepped up.

"I think we can handle that," Yukimura said, staring Irie down. Even as the oldest here, Irie stood the shortest but he was not intimidated at all.

"Yukimura-kun, was it?" Irie asked. "You still have practice early in the morning. I'd suggest that you go back to your rooms now, and rest well. You have nothing to worry, they are in good hands," Irie said, insisting on taking Haruka with him. With one swift movement, Irie lifted Haruka off Shiraishi and carried her in his arms with ease while Tokugawa picked up Koharu. "And stop looking so scary. Haruka-chan likes it better when you smile."

"They are a little intimidating, aren't they?" Shiraishi said, watching as the two high school students walked off with the two sleeping girls in their arms.

"Haruka sure made some interesting friends here."

Back in the control room, both Kurobe and Saito had been watching the group doing their punishment laps via the security cameras. "You know, there's nothing wrong in them wanting to sneak out. They are teenagers, after all. Being stuck in a place would have them looking for fun somewhere else. There was no need to punish Koharu and Haruka either. They are volunteers here, not participants."

"Rules are rules. They know that it is against the rules, yet they still do it. They understand the consequences and they have to accept it. The two Kobayashi sisters may only be volunteers, but they are still part of the camp. As staff members, they should know the rules better than anyone and abide to them."

"I don't think it's a bad idea for them to head out once in a while," Saito stated. "It would be good for their mental health too. Studies have shown that hard work with an equal amount of relaxation time would boost their result further. Perhaps you should think about revising the rules a little?"

"I'll think about it."

* * *

Early in the morning, Haruka let out a yawn despite having woken up a good hour ago. After the punishment laps, all Haruka could remember was sitting next to Shiraishi but everything after that was just a complete blackout. The next thing she knew, she was sitting up on her bed after Haruko's alarm clock went off. There was a note, however, left behind by Irie: _Don't sleep out in the open like that next time, Haruka-chan. You'll catch a cold if you do_. But the task at hand had Haruka forgetting to look for Irie. Instead, she had been running from court to court, putting down baskets of tennis balls.

"Good morning, Haruka," Saito smiled, walking up to the girl as he looked over the courts, nodding his head with satisfaction over her work. "Thank you for your hard work. I think I would be able to enjoy today even more."

"Ah..." Haruka muttered, looking up at Saito with a sudden realisation what the set up was for. "That's today?"

"Why, of course."

With a gentle pat on Haruka's head, Saito left the girl to finish up her work as he went back to the control room, waiting for the arrival of the middle school players after their breakfast. Haruka sat down by the side on the bleachers and waited after she had finished the setting ups, watching as the middle school players were slowly gathering on the courts. Both Fuji and Yukimura spotted the brunette almost instantly and headed her way but they were distracted when there was a loud bang with a groan following right after.

"Ah..." Saito groaned, rubbing his head as he came out from the control room. "Good morning, everybody. I am the mental coach, Saito~!" All attention was instantly diverted to the coach who just emerged. Saito had a huge smile on his face and even gave a little wave. Immediately, the first thing everyone noticed about him was his height. Not that Saito paid mind. "So, you are the bunch who are so strong that you don't seem one bit like middle school students? Well, with mental training, you can be better. Let's start, shall we? Let's begin with forming groups of two!"

Facing the prospect of playing doubles, naturally they started partnering up with their usual comrades. Haruka watched with a little smile on her face. Having been at the camp for years, she knew what was to come but still, she said nothing as they were all happily buzzing with excitement. As they were slowly settling down, Saito once again smiled before speaking.

"Ready?" he asked. "Well then, let's begin the single matches and the losers will be eliminated from the camp. That's right, the partner you just teamed up with is now your opponent. You will play to the rules of a tiebreak. Those who refuse to participate will be eliminated too. Shall we begin then?"

There was no doubt that the matches were interesting to watch. And despite the initial protest, the players were all cooperating. Some were more than happy to play the match, not holding back even one bit against their opponent. Slowly, matches were ending and the losers were starting to emerge. Although she already knew this, Haruka could not help but immerse herself into the matches as she watched from the bleachers. There was just something about watching people who were so used to fighting side by side now fighting against each other that really captured her. But her little observation from the sideline was disrupted when Saito gave her a little kick on the back.

"Don't you have work to do, Haruka?" Saito smiled, tilting his head slightly. "Come on now, a ball girl has no time to sit around."

Saito urged Haruka onto the court and she got to work immediately, picking up the balls by the side of the courts and returned them to a basket. But it was not long before she was distracted by a specific match. A match between players from Seigaku. A match between her friends. A match between _best friends_. Hugging tennis balls in her arms, Haruka stood by the sideline to watch. Their match was very obviously dragging out, specifically on Eiji's part. He was only a point from winning but he kept making mistakes, giving points away to Oishi.

Everyone was watching the match with a tug at their heartstrings. Being the only pair of middle school doubles partner to master Synchronisation, there was no doubt that it hurt them the most to know that the loser of this match was leaving the camp. It hurt Eiji even more, knowing that this was his last chance to ever play doubles with Oishi but having to be the one to send his best friend off, he just could not do it. While Eiji was still keeping a smile on his face, trying to put on the facade of being fine, Oishi read him completely.

"Stop messing around, Eiji! Showing me pity is unsightly! I refuse to lose to you if you keep this up!"

Oishi's sudden lash out shocked Eiji, snapping him back to reality. Eventually, the match would have to end. He could not keep this up forever. Oishi knew exactly what he was thinking, how he felt, just as he knew what Oishi was thinking and feeling too. The look in Eiji's eyes changed after that, as he got into position. There was no more messing around and Eiji won that one point more, making Oishi the loser.

"Leave your racket behind, Oishi. That way, you wouldn't be left out of the U-17 camp."

"Take care of it, Eiji."

"Of course!"

Throwing his racket to Eiji, Oishi grabbed his bag and slung it over his shoulder. As he was leaving the court, he walked up to Haruka and gave her the same old motherly smile that he always did, ruffling her hair and told her to take care of the team for him. "I will, don't worry," Haruka smiled right back. "See you later, Shui-kun."

Her choice of words was...interesting.

Oishi let it slide, however, walking over to the other team members to say his goodbyes. Haruka looked over her shoulder with a small smile before getting back to her work. Fuji watched the manager, intrigued by why she did not seem upset like everyone else was. They lost a team member. They were going to lose more considering that they still had matches to play. But Haruka was not one bit upset, which was unusual of her personality. This was a girl who cried when Eiji did not come to school for two days because he had a fever.

"You know, it's a little odd to see you so happy. Especially after Oishi losing and leaving. You cried and yelled at Momo after he pulled that with Oni. What do you mean by, 'See you later'? Do you know something that we don't?"

"Ha...of course I don't," Haruka lied. "I just said see you later because...you know, I'll see Shui-kun later. After the camp. Back in school."

"Hm..." Fuji hummed. "By the way, Yukimura-kun and Sanada-kun are about to start their match. Don't you want to watch?"

Looking across to the court Yukimura and Sanada were on, it was true that their match was about to begin though Haruka acted nonchalant. "I have work to do, Shu-kun. I'm not here to watch you guys play." Haruka resumed picking up the tennis balls, clearing up the court for the next match. But even as she acted like she was not interested, she was moving towards that particular court. And it was not long before she was standing just outside the court, ready for the match to begin.

Yukimura noticed the small brunette moving into his group of teammates, joining the ranks to spectate the match between him and Sanada. Seeing his childhood friend a little distracted, Sanada glanced over his shoulder to see Haruka too.

It was strange to see her again, for Sanada. They were never close like Yukimura and her were but they grew up together. It never hurt him as much to know that she left without a word and he would never admit it out loud, but Sanada missed her. Though seeing her standing by the bleachers, Sanada only wished that she never came to watch. He knew, _he knew_ , he would never win against Yukimura. There was no doubt. But it did not mean he would not try his very best to. And he knew that Yukimura was not going to hold back on him either. Pity, even on his best friend, was not who Yukimura was. Having Haruka here, however, only meant for certain that there would be no holding back on Yukimura's side.


	7. Chapter 7

_Reviews would be appreciated~_

* * *

 **Sun And Sunflower**

 **Yukimura x OC, Tokugawa x OC, Tanegashima x OC**

 **Chapter Seven**

"Ka...zuya..."

The light shining through the window from the rising sun, coupled with Haruko's annoying alarm clock, woke Koharu from her dreams. As she opened her eyes with a frown, Haruko was coming down from the upper bunk and stretched herself before looking to Koharu. "Oh, you're awake too," she muttered. Koharu sat up on her bed, letting out a groan as she did. Her muscles were aching from the run last night. She was so tired that she fell asleep straight after, having no recollection of how she got back to their room. "What did you and Haruka do last night? You guys were completely knocked out when I got back."

"We had to run laps..."

"Run laps?" Haruko asked, letting out a snicker. "What, you? Kobayashi Koharu running laps?"

"Shut up..."

Haruko chuckled and went over to the other bunk bed, waking up the youngest Kobayashi who fell back to sleep after the alarm clock was silenced. Koharu glared a little, using her fingers to brush out the kinks in her hair. She arched her back, stretching her arms at the same time, sitting on the edge of the bed. Now that she was slowly waking up, the dream she had last night was coming back to her. Koharu sighed, closing her eyes. It had been a while since she had that dream.

Both Koharu and Haruka were eventually dragged out of bed by Haruko, forced right into work. While Haruka tended to the middle school students, Koharu was put on duty as errand girl for the high school students. She envied Haruka, not because she was always given the easy task in the camp but because she was able to work around the guy she liked without feeling like someone was stabbing her in the heart over and over again every time she looked at him.

"Good morning, Koharu-chan."

A soft voice whispered into Koharu's ear, startling her. She dropped the crate of empty water bottles she was carrying and Koharu groaned as she watched the bottles rolling away in different directions. She glared as she whipped around though she instantly straightened herself, bowing politely when she saw that it was Irie. The older boy chuckled softly before moving to pick up the bottles.

Koharu's body responded as well, running after the ones that rolled far away. When all the bottles were returned to the crate, Irie insisted on carrying it for her. As an apology, was what he said. Then, they walked on silently...and awkwardly.

Irie was not a friend of Koharu's. The upperclassman had always been Haruka's friend. Koharu knew that they would meet at night occasionally, sharing cookies and having some deep meaningful conversations. Koharu, on the other hand, never said more than a 'hi' and a 'bye'. To say it was awkward between them right now was an understatement. Even if she wanted to start a conversation out of politeness, Koharu had no idea what to talk about.

"How are your legs?" Irie suddenly asked. "Twenty-five laps are not easy."

"My entire body feels dead," Koharu sighed. "I don't get it, how did Saito know? Everyone sneaks out all the time and no one has ever been caught."

"Well, there's a reason why," Irie smiled.

"Do you know the reason why, Irie-senpai?"

"Let's just say that a little birdie told Coach Saito."

Koharu stopped, narrowing her eyes on Irie. "Does that mean you know who the 'birdie' is?" Irie did not answer her but instead, kept walking. He arrived at a court, turning in and placed the crate on the ground before picking up two bottles; one for himself and the other for the player currently on the court. "Irie-senpai, this isn't where the bottles are suppo-"

At the sound of someone entering the court, Tokugawa looked up. Irie threw him a water bottle which he caught with his free hand though his attention was on the person entering after Irie. It was obvious that Koharu had no idea Tokugawa was on the court. She stopped short, looking perplexed before avoiding his eyes. She stormed over to the crate of water bottles, picking it up with one rough movement only to knock it over and empty the crate.

It was just her luck for this to happen.

"Come on now, birdie. Let's help the lady out."

"Birdie?"

Tokugawa was confused over Irie's choice of word. 'Kid', 'boy', or even 'brat' were what he was used to. 'Birdie' was definitely something new. But Koharu froze midway reaching out for a bottle the moment she heard Irie. She stood up and threw the bottle she had in one hand down in frustration. She stormed right up to Tokugawa and grabbed him by the jersey though he barely budged. And she was not tall enough to make herself look any more intimidating. It only confused Tokugawa further to see her act in such a way.

" _You're_ the birdie?" she asked.

"What are you talking about?"

"You're the one who told Saito on us!"

A glare was sent Irie's way from Tokugawa. If not for the upperclassman, Koharu would never have known it was him. But Tokugawa was no coward. He was not afraid to admit it. "Yes, I was," Tokugawa said. "No one is allowed out of the camp. Not even the volunteers. Sneaking out was breaking the rules and rules breaker should be punished. You were only sneaking out for a date, weren't you?"

Irie let out a sigh from the sideline, shaking his head. He only created this chance for Tokugawa to tell Koharu how he really felt. To tell her that the only reason why he got them into trouble was because he did not like the idea of her going on a date with someone else. Then again, he could not say this was unexpected. This was Tokugawa, after all. A man of few words, a man of even fewer emotions. He was physically incapable of expressing his own feelings and it only made matters worse. Perhaps Irie should have trained him first before letting them meet?

"Why do you care?" Koharu hissed. "Who are you to care? It's not like you're my boyfriend!"

"But he is your ex-boyfriend."

In her anger, Koharu forgot temporarily that Irie was an upperclassman and glared his way. "Stay out of this," she warned. "And you," she frowned, pointing at Tokugawa. "It doesn't matter that you're my ex-boyfriend, you have _no right_ to poke your nose into my business. No right! That's what the 'ex' means. It means you're past tense, you are no longer in my life and you no longer matter so stay out!"

Tokugawa was shocked, not because Koharu was yelling at him; it would not be the first time she did so. He was shocked because as she was yelling, tears kept falling down her cheeks. He reached up with his hand, wanting to wipe away her tears for her. Although Tokugawa was not really sure why, his heart hurt from seeing her cry and he wanted to make it stop. But as she saw his hand coming closer, Koharu slapped his hand away roughly.

She wiped her own tears with the back of her hand and with a deep breath, Koharu turned to leave and abandoned the crate of fallen water bottles. Irie sighed softly, shaking his head and started picking up the water bottles, putting them back into the crate nicely. "You're really an idiot, Kazuya," he sighed once more, straightening himself before looking up at the underclassman. "Why couldn't you just tell Koharu-chan how you really feel?"

"There's no need for that," Tokugawa stated. "I have practice to get back to."

* * *

"Koharu-nee!"

"Kobayashi Koharu!"

Since her encounter with Tokugawa in the morning, Koharu went missing. Haruko had been covering for her all morning but when it came to dinner time and Koharu was still missing, the eldest Kobayashi finally told the youngest and they went on a quest looking for the middle child. They checked their dorm room but Koharu was not underneath her covers and bawling her eyes out like she normally would be. The camp was too big, however, for them to know exactly where Koharu hid herself. She was always such a bright and cheerful girl, she was not really the type to have a hideaway.

Coming out from dinner, Irie just so happened to come across the two sisters shouting for Koharu. He did not approach them, however, simply going the other way with a smirk on his face. He went to pick up his saxophone and headed for the roof of the main building as he usually did but his routine was disrupted by an uninvited guest.

There, sitting on the ledge of the roof was the girl Haruko and Haruka were looking for. Irie approached her slowly, putting down his saxophone case as he sat down next to Koharu. Sensing someone coming up next to her, Koharu quickly wiped away the tears that kept coming back. Irie reached into his pocket and handed a packet of tissues to her with a soft smile. "Do you know how worried your sisters are?" he asked. "They've been looking for you all day long."

"Haruko-nee is probably looking for me so she could beat me up for making her cover my work," Koharu mumbled. "Haruka probably got dragged into it."

"You don't think they're actually worried about you?"

"I'd believe if Haruka was but not Haruko."

Irie pulled his phone out, giving Haruka a text to let her know that Koharu was with him and that she did not need to worry before looking back to the second Kobayashi sister.

"Do you want to hear a story?" Irie suddenly asked. It was obvious that Koharu was not interested in his story but out of respect and politeness, she nodded. "I've worked different part time jobs before," Irie started. "There's so many of them that I don't really remember where I've worked before exactly. But there's one place I will always remember. Because of a girl. To me, she was the most beautiful girl. She had the brightest smile. She would come into work, always in a good mood, and help others without a single complaint.

"But...she rejected me. I remember thinking, how could she? I stopped talking to her. But I was starting to see that it hurt her too. Just because she didn't return my feelings does not mean that we cannot be friends. That was what I was to her, a good friend. And I was being so childish and selfish that I was hurting her, I was the reason why she lost a friend. I got over it eventually and we stayed as friends. She's actually quite a good friend of mine."

"How can you still stay friends with her? Doesn't it hurt, knowing that she rejected you?"

"Think of it this way, I like her for her. Just because she doesn't like me romantically, doesn't mean that she's any less of a kind person. She's still the bright and cheerful girl I fell for. I'm not telling you to be friends with Kazuya again. Everyone deals with heartbreak differently, and every heartbreak is different from the other. But what I'm telling is, don't torture yourself. You may not be friends with him, but you could move on so you could live on without the pain."

"Is this what you do with Haruka?"

Irie chuckled before nodding. "Haruka-chan was the one who talked me through when the girl rejected me. She heard me playing the saxophone and came looking for me. Since then, we've been helping each other, giving advice here and there. You're more than welcomed to join us. We usually have cookies as well but I didn't know that I would have company tonight so I didn't bring any."

Koharu smiled softly, her tears finally stopped. She was starting to understand why Haruka was good friends with him. "It's alright. I don't think Haruka would like me intruding anyway," Koharu said. "Irie-senpai...are you still in love with that girl? Would you...confess to her again?"

"I don't want to do anything that would make things uncomfortable for her," Irie smiled. "I like our friendship now and I don't mind if we just remain friends. As long as she's happy, I'm happy."

"I wish I could be like you, Irie-senpai..."

"We're all our own person." Irie pulled his saxophone case over, unzipping the case and took the instrument out, getting up on his feet as he was fitting the mouthpiece on. "Since you're here, why don't you be my audience for the night?"

This time, Koharu nodded not out of respect or politeness but rather, from the bottom of her heart. Irie gave her a smile before holding up his saxophone and started playing. Koharu looked out at the scenery instead, listening to Irie play while thinking to herself. Irie was right. Why must she be torturing herself? Suffering everyday? She could not be like Irie, having his heart broken but still staying friends with the breaker herself. But Koharu could move on, let it go and let herself go.

Just like that, they spent a good hour in each other's company, mostly with Koharu listening to Irie play although they did talk about other things too. As it was getting later into the night, Irie packed up his saxophone and offered to walk Koharu back to her dorm. It was almost like a scene from a drama, when Irie and Koharu came out from the building on the ground floor only to run into Tokugawa.

The second year frowned at the pair, finding it odd that they were together. Despite not being the best boyfriend, Tokugawa still knew that Koharu was never friends with Irie. The upperclassman, however, took this as a chance. He placed a hand on Koharu's waist and tugged her closer to him. "Let's go, Koharu-chan," he smiled, leading the way as he glanced over his shoulder at Tokugawa, who (as expected) watched them leave until he could not see them anymore. "Here we are," Irie said, walking Koharu up to the entrance to her dorm.

"Kobayashi Koharu!"

"Looks like you're in trouble," Irie whispered. "I can't help you here, unfortunately. Kobayashi-san is too scary for me."

"Where the hell have ya been?!" Haruko grabbed Koharu by the collar, pulling her close before locking her head in her arm, using her knuckle to drill into her temple. Koharu screamed, struggling against her older sister but Haruko was not going easy on her at all. "Ya bastard! Do ya know how much work I have to do because of ya?! I'm goin' to beat ya up!"

"Haruko-nee!"

Irie watched the three sisters with a small chuckle, turning to leave, not wanting to be involved in their little drama. It was another five minutes after Irie left did Haruko finally let the younger girl go. "I'm just glad that you didn't do anything stupid," Haruko stated, straightening out her own clothes. "But you're gonna pay for this by covering my work tomorrow. I'm going to sleep in."

"What?! Hell no!"

"You want another beating?"


	8. Chapter 8

_Reviews would be appreciated~_

* * *

 **Sun And Sunflower**

 **Yukimura x OC, Tokugawa x OC, Tanegashima x OC**

 **Chapter Eight**

"It's been a while, Haruka-san."

"Ren-kun..."

As Haruka tried to sneak into the group of Rikkai members to watch the match between Yukimura and Sanada, she failed to be unnoticed when Yanagi called her out. The two looked at each other and silently nodded before looking back to the court. To call them friends seemed a little inappropriate. Haruka only knew Yanagi through Yukimura and Sanada. They were more acquaintances; their interactions consisting of only hellos and goodbyes mostly. Although, Yanagi was always the one who took note of Haruka's presence at their practice and at the hospital visiting Yukimura.

It was definitely interesting to see how her presence was going to affect both Yukimura's and Sanada's play.

Back on the court, Yukimura kept his eyes on Haruka, noting the small interaction between her and Yanagi before looking back to Sanada. "Don't hold back on me, Yukimura." There was no need for Sanada to remind him. Yukimura was not the type to hold back on anyone when it came to tennis after all.

"You never hold back to begin with, do you Sanada?"

Haruka was nervous. This was the first time she was watching them play against each other. In fact, it was the first time she was watching Yukimura play since the match she saw him play when they were seven. She never got the chance to watch when they entered middle school because she transferred away before any competitions started and she avoided him at all cost since. Then, Yukimura got sick. Even after he got better, she skipped out of watching the National's finals.

The match itself was intense enough based on the fact that it was Yukimura playing against Sanada. Two of the Three Demons up against each other. But everyone watching was soon feeling on the edge because as they promised, neither of them were holding back. Especially Sanada who was unleashing all his moves at once though Yukimura effortlessly countered all of them. As a result, while everyone else who started at the same time was finishing their game, Yukimura and Sanada were still rallying for the first point of theirs.

But as they watched on, even an amateur like Haruka was starting to notice something different about Sanada. He was not moving like he usually did. And the more she watched, the more her fear was growing. Out of nowhere, the familiar feel of paralysis, the feeling of darkness overtaking her sight, was coming back to her. Somehow, Haruka had a feeling that Sanada was growing through the same thing except more intense.

"Geni-nii..."

"You've realised?" Yanagi asked, looking to Haruka who had her eyes on Sanada. "This is Yukimura's tennis. As he returns every single shot the other player throws at him, Yukimura slowly takes away their senses. Simply put, he puts them in the state of yips. By now, Sanada most likely can't see or hear anything."

"It's scary..."

Yanagi frowned a little at her comment. Only those who ever experienced yips playing against Yukimura would ever say it was scary and he highly doubted that even if Yukimura did play against her before, he would use it on Haruka. But it was the girl shaking that got Yanagi realising she was truly scared. "Haruka-san?" he asked, his tone of voice clearly concerned. As he reached to touch her shoulder, Haruka reacted a little over the top.

She swatted his hand away, stepping back but tripped over her own foot and fell backward. As Yukimura took the first point, he noticed the little disruption outside the court. When the umpire called out the score, Haruka turned her head to look onto the court though it got Yukimura worrying because fear was the only thing written on her face. She scrambled onto her feet, refusing Yanagi's help and hurried away, slipping once as she climbed the stairs.

It was a distraction but Yukimura was soon focusing on the game. He promised Sanada he was not going to hold back. He was not going to let a distraction affect him because it would not be fair on Sanada though the result was rather obvious by now. Sanada had always been there for him. Sanada was the one who took over the club and made sure that they would be better while Yukimura was away sick. He was grateful for his friend, he truly was. But the difference between them was a little too big for Sanada to overcome.

With seven points to one, it was Yukimura's complete victory.

* * *

Sat on a starting block at the swimming pool, Haruka stared down at the water while swinging her legs, watching as her toes dragged across the surface and made ripples. Since the tie-break matches yesterday, after watching Yukimura play and running off, Haruka found solace at the swimming pool. There, she sat for hours on end doing exactly what she was doing right now until Haruko came looking for her.

Despite having duties, Haruka skipped out and came to the swimming pool, sitting in the same position as she did yesterday. For the first time in two years, her nightmares were coming back to haunt her. Her sisters were kept up all night by her screaming but they were more worried about the fact that Haruka was having nightmares again. Which was the reason why no one came looking for her although they had to cover for her.

"Haruka."

With a scream, Haruka jolted up and slipped, falling right into the pool. A hand instantly went into the water and grabbed Haruka by the elbow, pulling her to the side where she managed to pull herself out with some help. A gentle chuckle was enough to give away who it was who scared her. Haruka pouted and swung her hand at Fuji but he dodged her slap before going to grab two towels from the side; one to wrap her up with and the one to dry her hair with. "I could have drowned..." she mumbled, wrapping her arms around her knees.

"I wouldn't have let you drowned," Fuji smiled. "I didn't think that I would have scared you that much. Then again, you're Haruka." Haruka shot a glare up at him but Fuji only continued smiling, rubbing the towel against her hair. "What are you doing here? I didn't see you at morning practice." With her hair wet and him drying it for her, Fuji could not help but notice the scar that was well hidden behind her bangs usually though he refrained himself from asking about it.

"I don't want to see Sei-kun," Haruka confessed.

"That's a little different, coming from you," Fuji pointed out.

"Shu-kun...what would you do if there was someone you really miss but seeing them scares you?" Haruka asked.

"I would conquer my fear so I can see them again," Fuji smiled. Haruka looked into Fuji's eyes, somewhat feeling calm as she did. Fuji always knew what to say. And the one thing that Haruka loved about him was that he never pushed for answers. She knew she could go to him to talk about something that was bothering her without any details and he would still give her advice without asking for any. "This is about Yukimura-kun, isn't it?" The way Haruka's eyes widened made Fuji chuckle. "It's not hard to tell, Haruka. It's written all over your face."

She was an open book. Or so she had been told. But Haruka never thought that she was _that_ easily read.

"Sei-kun and I...we used to be really close. With Geni-nii too. But I'm really scared to be around him now."

"This is the first time you ever talked about Yukimura-kun like this with me," Fuji said. "You know, Haruka...there's actually a lot I don't know about you." Haruka could only stare at him. It was true that she kept a lot of things bottled up. Fuji was polite enough to never ask but it seemed like she did owe her friend some story-telling. "I always thought that you avoided the match with Rikkaidai because you transferred from there and it brought back bad memories for you. But it seems like there might have been another reason?"

"It's been seven years. Seven years since I met Sei-kun."

 ** _~Seven years ago~_**

 _"Wow! This is where onii-chan is going to play?"_

 _"Don't run off, Haruka!" Hikaru called to his younger sister, watching as she was excitedly zipping in and out the crowd._

 _This was not his first tennis match but it was the first time he brought the youngest Kobayashi along. When she was younger, their mother refused to let her go because there would be no one supervising her while Hikaru was playing. Now that she was a little older, Haruka took the chance to ask Hikaru to bring her along. He knew she was going to be excited but it still worried him to see her dashing from here and there._

 _Running back to Hikaru's side, Haruka wrapped her arms around his and followed her brother around the sports park. They went to register first before going to a court that was meant for warming up and some light practice. Despite being excited to come and watch her brother play, Haruka was soon tired of waiting for his match to start, having only sat by the side and watching him warm up._

 _"Haruka," Hikaru smiled, beckoning his little sister. "It's boring now, isn't it?" he laughed, giving her a small pet. "It's still going to be a while before my match begins so why don't you go and buy some snacks?" Hikaru picked up his bag and rummaged inside, pulling out his wallet and handed Haruka a few notes. "There's a little shop just down there. Buy me a drink too, okay? Don't spend all the money!"_

 _At the idea of exploring somewhere else, Haruka's excitement was coming back to her. As soon as Hikaru presented her with the money, she took the notes and dashed off with her brother shouting behind. She followed the directions Hikaru gave her, coming up to a snack shack and joined the line. When it was her turn, she bought some crisps and two drinks._

 _As she was turning to head back, a match that was going on in the court just opposite the shack caught Haruka's attention. She pushed all the way to the front, sipping her strawberry milk as she watched. It was a match between two boys way younger than Hikaru, perhaps even around Haruka's age. But it was clear that one was dominating the match. Even at a young age, he was playing exceptionally well and the only other person she knew who could play so well was her own brother._

 _Whom she had forgotten about._

 _Instead of running back to Hikaru, Haruka lingered at the court she discovered, waiting for the match to finish. When the crowd was slowly dissipating after the match, Haruka was the only one remaining. She waited until both players were leaving and she approached the one who just won with a big smile on her face. He was polite enough to return the smile._

 _"You were really awesome on the court," Haruka grinned. "Only my brother plays that good."_

 _"Thank you."_

 _"What's your name? I'm Kobayashi Haruka!"_

 _"He, you're cute. Yukimura Seiichi."_

 ** _~Presently~_**

"Even Haruka has cute stories like that, huh?" Fuji teased. "It sounds like the prequel to a great love story, meeting and becoming childhood friends."

By now, Fuji was sat on the bench with the soaked Haruka by the pool side. The pool was in use but no one was paying attention to the two middle school students chatting. Wrapping the towel around her head, Haruka made a face at Fuji's comment.

She thought about her meeting with Yukimura seven years ago a lot. Koharu taught her to think of her happy place whenever she was having a panic attack and that was her happy place. That specific match on that specific court with that specific boy. "We're not lovers and this isn't a romantic film," Haruka stated, avoiding looking at Fuji as she spoke. "We became good friends after that. We did a lot of things together. I used to watch him play and Sei-kun would teach me too. He even introduced me to Geni-nii. The Three Musketeers, my mum used to call us."

Fuji tilted his head as he listened. Haruka's expressions were different whenever she talked about Yukimura. He was someone important to her, that much Fuji could tell. It still did not explain to him why she was afraid to see Yukimura again. Or why she even transferred from Rikkai in the first place. So far, with a great start to a great friendship, it seemed like there was no reason at all for her to leave.

"But something happened, didn't it?"

Haruka froze at the mention of that. She clenched her fists tightly and she was starting to shake again. Fuji frowned, knowing that he had pushed too far this time. He placed his hand over hers, looking at her with a soft smile and kept telling her that it was alright, that she did not have to talk if she did not want to. Needless to say, Haruka kept her mouth shut.

"We should probably get you out of those wet clothes," Fuji said, changing the subject as he stood up, offering his hand to the girl. Haruka looked up with a raised eyebrow and Fuji could not help the laugh. "What are you thinking about, Haruka? I meant that I should take you back to your dorm room so you could change into some dry clothes."

"I wasn't thinking about anything," Haruka mumbled, taking his hand and stood up.

"So..." Fuji hummed, still holding onto her hand as they started walking. "Yukimura-kun calls you 'Haru', doesn't he? Can I call you Haru?"

"No, you can't."

"Why not?"

"You just can't."

"Is it a Yukimura-limited nickname?"

* * *

With a basket of laundry in her hands, Haruka was heading for the laundry room. And for the umpteenth time, she let out a yawn. After Fuji walked her back to her dorm room, Haruka changed into a set of dry clothes and went back to work. Except, Haruko was not exactly the understanding older sister she was in the morning. Once she saw how Haruka was back to her usual self, Haruko dumped all the work she was supposed to do and more onto Haruka. She barely had any rest though she knew she could not complain. She was the one causing them trouble in the first place.

The walk to the laundry room seemed to be a long one, despite it being just a mere five minutes walk usually. When she came up to a small lounge inside the building, Haruka took the opportunity to sit down. There was no rush to get the laundry done (preferably before the day ended but definitely no rush) so she took the chance to have a little rest.

"Just for a little while..." she whispered to herself. She made herself comfortable, laying on the sofa in the lounge and closed her eyes. Although she kept telling herself that she was only taking a small rest, she ended up falling asleep.

And fate would have it that Yukimura went by at the same time. Seeing Haruka fast asleep on the sofa only brought one thought to his mind, ' _She's still the same_ '. There was a small smile plastered on his face as Yukimura tread carefully before sitting down gently on the sofa. Haruka moved a little when he sat down but the motion was not enough to wake her. "What am I going to do with you, Haru? You really should be more careful about where you're falling asleep."

Yukimura took the jacket on his shoulders off, using it as a blanket to cover Haruka. Even when they were younger, he always found it odd (and rather cute) how Haruka could always sleep no matter where she was. She always fell asleep on the train with him. It was the rattling of the train and the gentle swaying that rocked her to sleep, or so Haruka said. He found her sleeping against the fence surrounding the tennis courts too, after getting too tired of waiting for him. The fact that she even found herself a sofa this time was impressive.

He kept quiet, watching her sleep and reached his hand out to brush her hair out of her face. He was glad to know that there was still something about her that did not change. But it also prompted Yukimura to wonder just how much Haruka had changed. He never got the chance to properly talk to her, to have a proper reunion. He wanted to ask how she had been. Was she liking Seigaku? Why did she leave in the first place? What was her relationship with Fuji? ...Had she forgotten about him?

"Sei-kun..."

Haruka's voice snapped Yukimura out of his thoughts. He could not help the smile, hearing his name coming from her. He missed it. He definitely missed having her call out his name every so often. He even missed the fights she would have with Sanada. As Haruka moved in her sleep, adjusting into a more comfortable position, her bangs fell out of place and Yukimura frowned, spotting the same thing Fuji did when he dried her hair.

 _A scar_.

When did Haruka get a scar like that? How did she get a scar like that?

There was definitely a lot more than what Haruka was letting on that she was hiding from them.


	9. Chapter 9

_Reviews would be appreciated~_

* * *

 **Sun And Sunflower**

 **Yukimura x OC, Tokugawa x OC, Tanegashima x OC**

 **Chapter Nine**

"There's a festival this weekend, have you heard?"

"What's the point? It's not like we can go."

" **Court ten, there is no talking allowed during practice. Sato, Nakamura, you are demoted.** "

While Kurobe was watching the courts from the control room in his chair, Saito was leaning against the desk, watching his colleague with a soft smile. Unable to shake off his look, Kurobe eventually gave in and sighed, turning to face Saito, waiting for him to speak. "Ever so harsh," Saito smiled. "I appreciate that you are only raising the standards of the players. As the saying in Chinese goes; a strict teacher produces outstanding students."

"Is there a but in there or are you wasting my time?"

"You said you would think about revising the rule regarding leaving camp. Have you thought about it yet?" Saito asked. "It's clear to see that the players are losing concentration. Maybe it's about time they get a day off too?"

There was no reply from Kurobe as he swiveled in his chair, back to facing the monitors. He hated to admit that Saito was right but mentality training was _Saito's_ field of expertise, not his. And it was obvious that the students were not having the initial enthusiasm they brought into the camp with them. The training they had to undergo diminished that enthusiasm and if it continued, they would not be producing the result they wanted.

As if trying to convince him further, Saito slid a flyer across the desk, leaving it next to Kurobe before leaving the control room with a smack to his head as he exited. Kurobe picked up the flyer, glancing through. It was a flyer advertising for the festival coming up this weekend, the one the students were talking about.

* * *

"Where do you think she is, Melon Bun?"

No one would believe Hikaru if he was to tell them that he happened to be in the neighbourhood while walking Haruka's dog when he walked into the U-17 camp. Since he came home, Hikaru only saw his sisters for only a week. The house felt empty without the three of them running about and shouting at each other because one of them used something belonging to someone else. Hikaru would not admit it out loud (because it was a little embarrassing) but he missed his sisters.

And after hearing from Haruko that the youngest Kobayashi was starting to have nightmares again, it only got Hikaru worried. So with the excuse of walking Melon Bun, Hikaru left the house with the dog and arrived at the camp for a visit. It brought back a lot of memories for him, just being at the camp. It had been quite a few years since he was last here, and there were some upgrades here and there, but Hikaru still remembered the place well. The U-17 camp was where his career started. This was the place that took him to international levels.

But with absolutely no idea where any of his sisters were, Hikaru could only wander around the grounds of the camp, talking to the dog as if he would give him a reply. He should have asked Saito when the coach was letting him into the camp but he ran off, saying he had work to get back to the second Hikaru walked through the gates. Hikaru let out a sigh, to which Melon Bun tilted his head at. That was when Hikaru walked up to a court where some middle school players were practicing on. He stood by the fence, watching the little practice match going on.

Though it was a little hard for a pro tennis player to go unnoticed. It was only about a minute or so before the players on the court started realising that they were being watched and all turned to look at Hikaru, surprised to see the man himself.

"Oh! Kobayashi Hikaru!" Eiji gasped. "That's such a cute dog!"

"Isn't your focus a little off, Kikumaru?" Atobe asked.

"Kobayashi-senpai," Yukimura smiled, opening the gate to the court for his upperclassman, allowing him in. "It's a surprise to see you here. Are you here for a visit?"

"What's your name, doggy?"

Before Hikaru could even walk through the gate, Eiji was already waiting by the entrance, squatting down to the dog's level and greeted it with a grin. As he reached out to touch Melon Bun, the dog was calm and stared at Eiji, only sniffing his hand a little when it got close. Even as Eiji was petting him, Melon Bun sat by Hikaru's feet, not making a single move. "He's Melon Bun," Hikaru smiled, giving the dog a pet on the head.

"Melon Bun?" Eiji frowned, tilting his head. "What kind of name is that?"

"I bet Haruka named him." Both Yukimura and Fuji spoke at the same time. "Because she likes melon buns."

"She named him Melon Bun because when we got him, he was just so cute that she could eat him up. Like melon buns," Hikaru chuckled.

Melon Bun looked up at Hikaru, tilting his head as if to ask what he was laughing about. But just like that, he was suddenly the star of the court as the middle school players rushed up to pet the dog. Despite the attention, Melon Bun still remained by Hikaru, never making a sound. That was, until something finally caught his attention. Or rather, someone. Tearing his attention from Hikaru for once, Melon Bun turned his head to the right and stared hard.

When two figures turned the corner and was coming down the path by the court, Melon Bun stood up and tugged on the leash. Hikaru noticed the sudden tightness on his leash and looked up, seeing two of his three sisters coming their way. "Melon Bun!" Haruka gasped. It was so typical of her to notice the dog before her beloved older brother. Ever since they got the German Shepherd, they had been inseparable.

Hikaru let Melon Bun off his leash and the second he was free, the dog bolted down the path, running straight into Haruka's arms and started licking her face, jumping up on her as if he was hugging her. Haruka giggled and gave kisses back, hugging the dog back. Once their little reunion was over, Haruka picked up the basket of water bottles and with Melon Bun by her side, walked up to the court.

"What are you doing here?" Haruko asked, looking to Hikaru.

"I was walking Melon Bun and was in the neighbourhood so I thought I'd pay a visit." Haruko raised an eyebrow, not believing in the obvious lie. In fact, everyone else was looking at Hikaru but none of them dared to point out his lie.

Though, Hikaru was more concerned with Haruka. Seeing her so happy, however, he was a little relieved. Bringing Melon Bun was obviously clever on his part. Despite how attached Haruka was to him, there was only one person who could ever bring Haruka out of a state instantly and that was Melon Bun. Whatever it was that triggered her nightmares again, it seemed like Haruka had already forgotten about them as she was playing with the dog.

Not forgetting her work even with the presence of her brother and dog, Haruka played with Melon Bun in the form of work. With the basket she was carrying set up by the side of the court, Haruka took the bottles out one by one, putting them in Melon Bun's mouth before directing him to a person and the dog would flawlessly deliver the water bottle. Once the basket was empty, she then asked the dog to start bringing her the tennis balls scattered all over the court.

While this was a show of how perfectly trained Melon Bun was, there was one person who found it a little odd. Being a fellow dog owner, Atobe was no stranger to a dog's behaviour or the type of tricks they could do. Even from the beginning, he noticed how disciplined Melon Bun was sitting next to Hikaru. He never once barked at a person who approached him. When they were all showering him with pets, he simply sat still with a little wag of his tail. Only when he saw Haruka did the dog get a little excited. Not even Beat, who was professionally trained, was that well-behave.

"Is Melon Bun a service dog?" It was a question out of the blue but Atobe only asked out of curiosity.

"He's Haruka's service dog." Before Haruko could elbow her brother in the rib, Hikaru blurted the answer out. Several heads turned at once; Yukimura's and Fuji's included. "Oh...um..." Hikaru realised his mistake when he saw the confusion on some of their faces while Yukimura and Fuji were both frowning in concern. "What I mean is, Melon Bun was trained as a service dog but for some reason, he wasn't taken on so we adopted him. And since Haruka is the one who takes care of him the most, Melon Bun is naturally her dog. Yeah, that's it!"

It was rather obvious that Hikaru was lying. Haruko rolled her eyes, knowing that there was no coming back from this. The middle school players, however, did not question the pro tennis player. It was almost as if they were having pity on him for trying so hard to lie.

"Whatcha talking about?"

"Just talking about Melon Bun," Hikaru smiled.

"Yeah, we were talking about how cute he is," Fuji smiled, squatting down to give the dog a pet on the head. Melon Bun raised his nose and sniffed Fuji's hand before giving it a lick. This was the most affectionate he had been with someone else besides Haruka. "Oh my, look at that."

"Of course he's cute," Haruka grinned, scratching the dog behind both ears. "He is Melon Bun! He's the cutest in the world. Aren't you, Melon Bun? Isn't that right, Melon Bun?"

* * *

It was not unusual to gather the players for an announcement. It was, however, unusual that they were gathered in the middle of the day. But when everyone arrived, they realised that the gathering seemed a little suspicious when even the volunteers of the camp appeared, claiming that they were called to the gathering too. There was something about an important announcement that was really putting everyone on the edge. What could possibly be so important that even non-players were asked to come?

"Ow!" Saito's shout from above once again got everyone's attention. The coach had his hand to his head, rubbing gently with a sigh as he strolled out from the control room before greeting everyone with a big smile as always. "Hello there! I can't believe everyone's here right on time," he smiled. "Well then, let's not waste anymore time. As mentioned, there is an important announcement that involves everyone. Over the years, we realise that despite there being a rule, you are still sneaking out of camp. We have been lenient with you, although it has come to our attention that perhaps the rule is a tad...strict.

"You are teenagers after all. And with some discussion, coach Kurobe and I have come to the decision that every week, on Saturday, you will be allowed out of the camp. The right amount of relaxation would boost your performance and will be good for your mental health overall. I know you are all dying to go on a date with that cute girl. Curfew is still in place, however, and if you do not return before then, there will be consequences. That is all. Practice will resume in half an hour."

Instantly, the crowd of players started talking among themselves, clearing excited about the sudden change. There were several of them who were more than happy to be able to leave the camp to do something other than tennis while some of them were already on their phone, asking their girlfriends out on a date. But it was the spectacular crowd around Koharu that became the main focus.

As soon as the rule change was announced, the players took advantage of their new found freedom and with the festival coinciding on the one day they were allowed out, many of them chose to attend, the Kobayashi sisters included (though they only went because Haruka insisted on going, because it had been a while since the three sisters got to do anything else besides volunteering at the camp). Though neither Haruko nor Koharu minded when they saw how happy their little sister was.

While they were having fun, Koharu could not help but notice how most people who came to the festival were couples. Some of the girls were dressed up in a yukata but they were all looking so smitten, their arms hooked onto their boyfriends' while going from stall to stall and playing the games. "It's a little sad that we're here with each other and not a date," Koharu suddenly mentioned.

"I don't mind being here without a date," Haruko shrugged.

"Yes, but you're Kobayashi Haruko."

"Excuse me, may I borrow Koharu-chan?" Out of nowhere, Irie approached the sisters and took Koharu's hand. While he seemed to be asking the sisters for permission to take away the second daughter, Irie tugged on her hand and dragged her off before any of them could register what was going on.

"Koharu-nee got kidnapped..."

"Wasn't that Irie?" Haruko raised an eyebrow. "He's your friend, isn't he?"

With just two of them now, Haruko and Haruka wandered around the festival, visiting mostly the food stalls as they tried the food. When Haruka wanted to get some fried squid, Haruko stayed back to wait. She hated the smell _and_ the taste of squid. Though the second she heard a voice, she was starting to think that perhaps squid was not too bad. "Lil Spring!"

It had been a rather peaceful time at the camp this year because she was not bothered all the time by Tanegashima. Winning that childish game was possibly the best thing she had ever done in her life. She did think initially that Tanegashima would never be able to keep to his promise. He did not seem like the type who would be able to keep away. But to Haruko's surprise, she never saw him once since they played 'Look Over There'. "What are you doing here?" Haruko asked. "You promised you won't bother me."

Tanegashima tutted and wagged his finger from side to side. "No, no. I promised I wouldn't bother ya for the rest of the _camp_. We're not in camp right now." Haruko glared instantly. There was a loophole that she never figured out. A loophole that Tanegashima found and used against her. "Are ya here alone, Lil Spring? Mind if ya went on a date with me?"

Haruko rolled her eyes in response and turned to leave with Tanegashima following right behind, still pestering her, and promptly forgetting about Haruka. When the youngest Kobayashi turned around, she frowned to see that Haruko was no longer there waiting for her. "Oh? Haruko-nee?" Haruka started walking around herself, looking for her either of her sisters.

"Isn't that Matsuoka-san?" Shiraishi was the first to spot Haruka walking by herself, looking around as if she was lost. The trio in room 201 had decided to come and have a look at the festival that everyone was talking about. They were talked into it too, by the rest of the middle school players, though it did not take long for them to split up into groups when they arrived and somehow, the roommates ended up with each other. "What is she doing alone?"

"I thought she came with her sisters," Fuji commented.

"Haru."

As she turned around, the trio approached her. "Oh? What are you guys doing here?" Despite knowing that they were roommates, it was still rather surprising to see the trio together. They were from different schools, from different areas, yet somehow they fit together so well. But it was more surprising to Haruka that the three of them were at the festival together.

"We came with the rest of the middle school students but everyone broke off into groups," Shiraishi explained. "Somehow, we ended up together."

"I thought you came with your sisters?" Fuji asked.

"They abandoned me..." Haruka sighed.

"Then how about you join us?" Yukimura suggested. "It'd be more fun with a group, wouldn't it? And safer for you too."

At the mention of joining the trio, Haruka looked up at Yukimura. It was bringing back some memories for her of when they were younger. When they became friends, so did their mothers. They brought their children out on play dates and going to the festival was one of those many activities. Haruka's mother would always dress her up in a kimono or yukata while Yukimura's mother would match him with her. And at the end of the night, they would be on their mothers' backs, sleeping while holding a toy each that they won at a stall game. Those were times that Haruka thought of quite often.

Without hesitation, Haruka nodded with a smile. Just like she did with her sisters, they went from stall to stall, trying out most of the food before coming to the game stalls. One by one, the guys played the games flawlessly, winning Haruka so many stuffed toys that she had to get a bag in order to carry them. As the night went on, they were soon calming down from the games, enjoying a cone of green tea ice cream each.

"Did you see the man's face?" Haruka laughed, walking backwards while happily recounting the events earlier. "He thought you guys were going to win his entire stall!"

"Be careful, Haru," Yukimura warned.

"Oh! And did you guys see the crowd of girls when you guys were playing? You would think only a celebrity would get that much attention. Though...it was a little surprising to know that Kura-kun is the most popular with girls."

"Kura-kun? And why is it surprising?"

"Haru gives everyone a special name," Yukimura smiled. "Sei-kun, Shu-kun, and she obviously likes you enough to call you Kura-kun."

"I am honoured," Shiraishi smiled. "But what was that about it being surprising that I'm popular?"

"I don't know~"

Haruka turned on her heel, turning to face the front again but before any of the guys could stop her, she crashed right into someone. As she pulled away, Haruka was about to apologise when she saw just what a mess she made. Her ice cream was all over the person's shirt and although she was trying to be nice, her first instinct was to wipe it off and it only made the mess worse.

"I'm so sorry!"

"Do you know how much this shirt costs?"

The girl she bumped into was not happy. Rightfully so, Haruka thought. Anyone would be angry if some ditzy girl crashed into them and got ice cream all over them. But the way she spoke, her tone, was especially harsh and condescending. Haruka did not think it was reasonable to be spoken to that way. "How would I know?" That was when both Yukimura and Fuji let out a sigh, knowing that she only just got herself into more trouble.

"Is that how one should speak after they made a mess?" the girl asked.

"Hey now, she apologised," Shiraishi said.

"Yeah? And? You think her apology will magically clean up this green mess?" The girl was not backing down at all and she was not going to let it go just because Haruka apologised. It was obvious she wanted more than just an apology. "I'll tell you, you pay me fifteen thousand yen, I'll forget about this."

"You must be crazy asking for the amount," Yukimura stated.

"We'll buy you a bottle of water to wash that off and you can walk away," Fuji offered.

Before the girl could say anything else, however, a guy stepped in. "Oh, if it isn't the mighty Yukimura Seiichi," the guy smirked, tilting his head a little as he placed an arm around the girl. "What's up, babe? They bullying you?"

"Yeah, that brat there ruined my shirt."

"Well, how about this? They call you the Child of God, don't they? Let's settle this with a game of tennis. You win, you go. I win, you pay for the shirt."

"Sei-kun..."

"Deal."


	10. Chapter 10

_Reviews would be appreciated~_

* * *

 **Sun And Sunflower**

 **Yukimura x OC, Tokugawa x OC, Tanegashima x OC**

 **Chapter Ten**

Standing on the street court late at night with spotlights pointing at her and an audience watching her was not something that Haruka was quite used to. Things happened a little too quickly and she had little time to digest what was going on. She was the one who got into trouble with one ice cream cone but Yukimura was the one who took on the deal offered by the girl's boyfriend. Except, the street court they went to was a doubles only court. And she was picked to be Yukimura's partner by their opponents.

Watching the guy and the girl on the other side of the court, it was clear to see that they were doubles partners. And from the way they were interacting before, there was no doubt that they were a couple. Which could only mean that they would be perfectly in sync. Haruka trusted in Yukimura but she did not trust herself. Doubles meant having to rely on each other. Having one person taking on two, no matter how skilled he was, Yukimura would still be burdened.

With a racket borrowed from players on the court, Yukimura tapped Haruka behind the knees, making her bend them a little before giving her a gentle smile. "Don't look so scared," he said. "Do you trust me?"

"I do...but Sei-kun-"

"Do you remember that song we used to sing?" he suddenly asked. Haruka frowned. This was _not_ the time to be reminiscing. "The song you made up? 'Good Morning, My Friends'."

" _Good morning, my friends. The morning has come to an end_ -"

"You don't need to sing it," Yukimura let out a soft chuckle. "You still remember the dance that goes with it, right? Just move as I tell you to, okay?"

Although Haruka did not quite understand what he meant, she nodded. She was not bad at tennis; she was trained by Hikaru _and_ Yukimura after all (though she only trained with Yukimura for two days before giving up because of his Spartan ways). But it had also been a while since she last played properly. The last time she ever played tennis was with Fuji before the camp started but that was just a friendly match that barely got serious at all.

As they stood on the court in position, their opponents got the first serve. The guy was standing at the baseline, looking smug as he served the ball. "Haru, the frog!" Her body moved instinctively to the left though her mind was still in a blur. So this was what Yukimura meant.

With Yukimura shouting the commands from the back, and Haruka moving accordingly in the front, they took the first game easily. Both Fuji and Shiraishi watching from the baseline had their eyebrows raised. "Frog? Rabbit?" Shiraishi asked. "That's a strange strategy, don't you think?"

"Don't forget the gecko," Fuji reminded. "It's strange but it works. Looks like Yukimura-kun is not only an excellent singles player but he can carry a weaker doubles partner perfectly well."

"Haru, gecko." Haruka moved to the right but their opponents seemed to have read her movement, understanding their strategy, hit the ball in Haruka's direction. "Hit it, Haru!" At Yukimura's command, Haruka swung her racket and returned the ball, catching their opponents by surprise and earning the last point to win them another game.

"I did it!" she gasped, running up to Yukimura to hug him.

"You did it," he smiled, squeezing her back.

It was frustrating for the guy to know that they were being beaten in straight games. They could not even get a single point off Yukimura and Haruka, not even when he was aiming for Haruka the weak link. And with his pride on the line (and to save himself from an argument with his girl), he thought of something that was not a fair move on his part. But all was fair in love and war, and this was war.

When Yukimura served, the guy returned the ball before running up to the net. He waited for Yukimura to shout his command at Haruka and moved at the same time. Just as he had wished, she moved a little too close to the net. He swung his racket back, looking as if he was going to return the ball but as he swung it forward, he aimed it at Haruka's head.

Haruka reacted to it but not fast enough. She took half a step back before the racket collided with her forehead, and she fell in pain. She had her hand pressed to her forehead but blood was already seeping through her fingers. The trio of room 201 rushed up to the girl, helping her off the court. "My bad, man," the guy smirked. "I was aiming for the ball, obviously. But looks like your little girlfriend got a little too close to the net. She's so tiny I didn't even see her."

"Haruka wouldn't be able to play," Fuji said. "But you need a partner to finish this match, don't you Yukimura-kun?"

"I was just thinking that you could fill in for Haru, Fuji-kun."

"Dude, your girlfriend is hurt and all you care about is the match? Some boyfriend you are."

"You just pissed off the two people you should never have pissed off," Shiraishi informed the guy.

While Yukimura and Fuji were ready to continue the match, the guy protested that it was unfair because his partner was a girl. They graciously allowed him to choose any partner from the players on the court and even offered to start the match anew. All the while, Shiraishi attended to Haruka. He had to pry her hand off her forehead, telling her that he was not going to hurt her but that he wanted to help her. She gave in eventually. The blood was coming from a cut but luckily, it was more of a scratch.

"We'll give you the first serve this time round," the guy smirked, hitting the ball over the net.

Fuji caught the ball in one hand, looking over to the guy. "How kind of you," he smiled. "Yukimura-kun, since Haruka got hurt, I'd like to end this quickly if you don't mind. I think fifteen minutes should be enough, don't you?"

"You're too generous, Fuji-kun," Yukimura said, looking over to the guy too. He was scared, needless to say, because both Yukimura and Fuji were glaring and while they had gentle features, the look in their eyes was more than enough to instill fear in him but he was trying not to let it show. "I was thinking five minutes."

When the match started again, each serve ended either with an ace or with less than three rally. It ended in a complete victory for both Yukimura and Fuji, much to the humiliation of their opponents. Without so much of a side glance, both Yukimura and Fuji got off the court and returned the rackets they borrowed before joining Shiraishi and Haruka.

They were both worried about their common friend while playing, the person who was injured during the match. Though, it seemed like Haruka was not one bit worried about herself or the match. Shiraishi had been so kind to help her stop the bleeding and even went to a nearby convenience store to get her some band-aids. While her two friends were working hard to get revenge for her, Haruka was busy choosing what design she wanted on her band-aid with Shiraishi instead.

"...no, that's Cinderella. I said Belle," Haruka pouted.

"Which one is Belle?"

"Beauty and the Beast?"

"That doesn't help at all!"

The only thing Yukimura and Fuji could do was laugh as they looked at each other. It seemed like their worrying was for nothing. While they expected for Haruka to be crying, worrying about them, it seemed like she was just the usual Haruka. Which was much of a relief to them.

* * *

Back at the festival, Koharu was following behind Irie as they were walking for what seemed like the millionth time around the festival. That was all they did after he kidnapped her from her sisters. Irie did not say a single word, nor did it look like he planned to. Even as they were buying food, he would only point at something to ask if she wanted it instead of speaking. And it seemed like it was only uncomfortable for Koharu. Every time she tried to ask him something, Irie would simply look the other way.

The longer she spent with Irie, the more she wished she was with her sisters. Even the company of Haruko sounded much more appealing than Irie's. But just as she was about to sneak off, Irie suddenly grabbed her hand, interlocking their fingers and looked down at her with the perfect smile. Somehow, Koharu felt more intimidated by the smile than she did comforted.

"You must be tired after all that walking. Shall we get on the Ferris Wheel?" Irie asked.

"Huh?" Not used to the talking so suddenly, Koharu zoned out a little. And in that small moment of hesitation, Irie dragged her along, not letting go of her hand at all. "Wait a second, where are you taking me?"

"Oh, Irie."

"Oh my, if it isn't Oni and Kazuya," Irie smiled. "I didn't peg the two of you as the festival type."

"Well, everyone was going so I thought we should too."

While Oni and Irie talked, both Tokugawa and Koharu kept quiet. She was avoiding eye contact while he had his eyes fixed on her hand in Irie's. "If I knew you were coming, I would have asked you to join us," Iriei said. "Just kidding~ Koharu-chan and I are on a date. There's no way I would have asked you to be the third and fourth wheel."

"Since when are we-"

A squeeze on her hand told Koharu to shut up and she did just that. She was starting to suspect that Irie was not wanting to spend time with her but had ulterior motives. What those motives were, however, Koharu was not quite sure. "Well then, if you don't mind, Koharu-chan and I are heading to the Ferris Wheel. I shall see you guys back at the camp."

With a brief goodbye, Irie pulled Koharu with him and left the other two. She could not help but glance over her shoulder, looking to Tokugawa. Part of her was hoping that he would reach out and grab her hand, telling Irie that this was no date because Koharu was his. But a much bigger part of her knew that it was not going to happen and so, she dipped her head a little in disappointment and freed her hand from Irie's.

Although she was not quite willing, Koharu ended up in a carriage with Irie on the Ferris Wheel though they sat on opposite sides. She stared out of the glass window, watching as everything below them slowly became smaller as they were going up higher. She placed her hand on the glass and gently let out a small sigh. "Looks like the talk we had last time did not help you much," Irie suddenly said.

Koharu was snapped back to reality at his voice. The previous conversation they had on the roof was coming back to her. It did help, Irie's advice. She let go of the grudge she held against Tokugawa and she knew because she did not feel the slightest bit of anger when she saw him just now. But instead, it was replaced with misery. Every time she thought of Tokugawa, she felt like crying. And every time she saw him, she could feel a tug at her heartstrings and realise just how much she missed him.

"It helped," Koharu said softly, looking down at her knees. "But we only talked about my grudge last time. We talked about letting go of my anger towards...towards _him_. You didn't tell me how to deal with missing him."

"I'm sorry but I can't help you with that," Irie stated. "I can't help Haruka-chan with that, and neither could I with you. But I can tell you this, there's no use running away. You'll only miss him more the more you avoid him. Take Haruka-chan for example. Haven't you realised that she's a lot happier nowadays? I remember when she would come into camp, looking as if there's something on her mind all the time. But she's different this time round. And I think it has a lot to do with the boy, Yukimura Seiichi."

"So you're telling me to spend more time with him? How could I? You see the way he treats me."

"You and Kazuya both, you're very slow when it comes to relationships. I don't blame Kazuya, tennis is all his life is about after all. He's quite inexperienced with such things. But you're Miss Popular every you go. Surely you must have a few relationships before Kazuya?"

"Yes...but," Koharu sighed. "He's the first I ever asked out. It's usually the guys who ask me out."

"Arrogant," Irie smirked. "Shall we have a bet?" he suddenly asked. "We're only about halfway through the ride right now. So...in about ten minutes, when we reach the ground, Kazuya will be there waiting to take you away."

Koharu raised an eyebrow. If there was someone who knew Tokugawa better between them, it would be Irie. Koharu would not fight for the title. Though she had doubts that he knew Tokugawa _that_ well. There was no way he would be waiting on the ground. "Alright. If you lose, I want to go one more round on the Ferris Wheel."

"Deal. And if you lose, I would like for you to be honest about your feelings with Kazuya. Don't waste my efforts. Don't look at me like that. Of course I had my reasons for taking you away from your sisters. If there was someone I really wanted to enjoy the festival with, I would have taken Haruka-chan. It's not enjoyable at all when all you think about is Kazuya."

Half of Koharu wanted to win because she believed in herself. She believed that Tokugawa would not be waiting for them. Why would he? Since their break-up, he never contacted her. He never said anything to her either, whenever they saw each other at the camp. It was as if they did not know each other to begin with. Yet, the other half was hoping for Tokugawa to be right there on the ground. Because it would show that he cared. That he still had feelings for her.

She had her face pressed to the glass, looking out onto the festival as they were finally descending. Koharu could feel her heart beating faster the closer they got to the ground. Irie simply smirked, crossing his legs while waiting for the ride to come to an end. No matter how hard she looked, however, Koharu could not see Tokugawa and he was never hard to miss. Disappointment was starting to settle in as they were soon on the ground, the next carriage to get off.

But as if they were in a drama, the second before the door to their carriage opened, Tokugawa was pushing through the crowd. Koharu's eyes met with his and in that moment, she smiled. As soon as the door opened, Koharu stepped up and without hesitation, walked up to Tokugawa. And he, without hesitation, took her hand into his, disappearing into the crowd with her. "Don't forget our deal, Koharu-chan!" Irie called after her.

* * *

"Whatcha wanna do, Lil Spring?"

"Oh, that looks delicious, Lil Spring! Let's try!"

"Hey look, Lil Spring!"

Those were only a few of the many comments Tanegashima said to Haruko throughout the night. No matter how hard she tried to lose him in the crowd, somehow, he would always find his way back to her. By this point, Haruko had given up on losing him. She was more annoyed with the fact that he found a loophole in their agreement after all.

Still, despite finding it irritating, Haruko was somehow enjoying the festival with Tanegashima. Every stall that he asked to visit turned out to be good. They played several games together, winning many of the prizes but Haruko gave them all to the children who gathered to watch the duo. And every food stall he brought her too was delicious. If people did not know any better, they would have thought that they were a couple on a date at the festival.

Tanegashima had been the one taking the initiative, suggesting this and that to do. But as they were passing by what seemed like a mini arcade, Haruko stopped. She spent a lot of her time in the arcade back in middle school. She still went often in high school. It was the one place where she could be alone and do something by herself without looking out of place. As an instinct, she turned her body towards the mini arcade, walking right up to the counter to exchange some coins. As he turned around to talk, Tanegashima frowned when he saw that Haruko was missing.

He retraced his steps and found her in the mini arcade, standing in front of the claw machine with a small group of children surrounding her. Tanegashima joined the children, watching as Haruko skilfully grab every single toy in the machine successfully. She dropped most of them just to the side of the drop hole, however, winning the exact number of toys to the number of children surrounding her.

"I didn't know ya so good at that," Tanegashima grinned.

"It comes with practice," Haruko shrugged, leaving the arcade after having her fun.

"But why do ya leave them by the drop hole? With ya skills, ya could win them all!"

"Where's the fun in that?" Haruko asked. "I used to spend a lot of my time in arcades when I was younger. When Hikaru stopped playing tennis with me, it felt weird to practice by myself. And I didn't click with Koharu or Haruka at all so I didn't like any kind of activities that they did. No matter what people say, they would still give you weird looks whenever you're out in public doing something alone. Eating alone, shopping alone...they always look at you like you're an outsider."

For the first time ever, Haruko was actually having a conversation with Tanegashima. On her own accord. And for the first time ever, Tanegashima simply listened.

"That was when I started going to the arcade. You didn't have to go with friends although quite a lot of people did. You could just go in, sit at any machine, and start playing. They only cared about whether or not you were good. If you were good, they would gather to watch. If you weren't, they wouldn't bother you. And almost all the games in an arcade could be played by yourself. I won so many tickets and prizes that the arcade near my home just lets me play for free."

"I would do anythin' with ya, Lil Spring," Tanegashima smiled. "I would never let you be alone."

Haruko stared into Tanegashima's eyes, knowing that he was being serious. This was not the usual playful Tanegashima who teased her with every word that came out of his mouth. This was Tanegashima being serious, making a promise like a boyfriend would.

"Whatever."

"Just whatever? Not 'leave me alone'?"

"Whatever."


	11. Chapter 11

_Reviews would be appreciated~_

* * *

 **Sun And Sunflower**

 **Yukimura x OC, Tokugawa x OC, Tanegashima x OC**

 **Chapter Eleven**

When Tokugawa took her hand and pulled her away from the little date with Irie, Koharu could not be happier. They were zipping in and out the crowd, getting further and further away from the Ferris wheel. It felt like the first time they met and Koharu could not help the smile on her face getting bigger as her grip on Tokugawa's hand tightened. But then, she remembered Irie's words. _If you lose, I would like for you to be honest about your feelings with Kazuya_. And instantly, Koharu stopped and tugged her hand away from his.

Tokugawa stopped in his tracks too, and turned to see what was going on when the feeling of Koharu's smaller hand in his was gone. Koharu had her head down, looking at her hands. She could not bring herself to be honest about her feelings for Tokugawa. Not when she knew what his reaction would be. She had let go of her anger towards him but Koharu knew that she would never be able to go through another heartbreak, like the one a year ago.

"I..." Koharu stuttered with her words, but nothing more than an 'I' came out. She looked up at Tokugawa with a frown and even took a step back. "I'm sorry, I can't do this."

With those six words, Koharu turned and left Tokugawa without so much of a glance behind her. She used the crowd as her cover and before she knew it, she was on the edge of the festival where there were less people walking around. She only stopped when she knew for sure that she had lost Tokugawa. Stood by the side all by herself, Koharu was bent over with her hands on her knees, breathing heavily to catch her breath.

She could already hear Irie's reprimanding voice, telling her off for not keeping her promise. Koharu could not, however. She could not bring herself to tell Tokugawa that yes, she still had feelings for him. _Really_ strong feelings. She could not tell him that she still cried herself to sleep sometimes, despite it being a year already. She could not tell him that she wanted him back, she wanted their relationship once more.

Koharu placed her hand on her chest where her heart was, feeling a slight pain. This happened too, when they broke up. When _he_ broke it up.

All along, Koharu never quite understood why they had to keep volunteering at the camp when the one reason why they even began volunteering was no longer there himself. It was somewhat a fun experience the first year they went to the U-17 camp but then it started becoming a chore. There was never a year that went by without Koharu complaining about having to go to the camp. This was the first year that she did not complain.

Because of _him_.

It was during the orientation trip when she first saw him. Koharu was working in the kitchen when the new group of campers were brought on a little tour of the camp. It was the most embarrassing moment of Koharu's life when the group came into the cafeteria while Koharu was bringing dishes into the kitchen, all dressed in the kitchen garb, completed with a hair net. That was when she saw him, the one who stood out the most within the crowd. He stood the tallest, and easily the best looking. But when he made eye contact with her, Koharu wanted to find a hole and just bury herself for the rest of her life.

But her confidence came right back during one lunch break. Koharu found the courage to finally sit next to him and talk, finally learning his name. _Tokugawa Kazuya_. He had been overseas the entire time, coming back to Japan to participate in the U-17 camp because it would help with his path onto professionalism in tennis. The more she talked to him, the more Koharu fell. For a girl who knew nothing about tennis, she was suddenly interested in the sport.

She did not know when they officially became a couple but it seemed like the natural thing to do as they were gradually getting closer. Back then, they were not allowed to leave camp so the only dates they could go on was spending time at the camp's café and meeting late in the night, just sitting with each other and talking about whatever. They were very different dates to what Koharu was used to but not once did she think they were bad in any way. In fact, those were the best times Koharu ever had.

It seemed a little far-fetched to think that they would last forever, but Koharu was hoping that they would last a significant amount of time at least. Less than two weeks into their relationship, it ended as quickly as it started.

 ** _~One year ago~_**

 _"Is he okay?"_

 _As soon as Koharu heard the news, she rushed over to the infirmary where Tokugawa had been sent to. She could feel the tears streaming down her cheeks the moment she laid eyes on the bandaged Tokugawa who did not acknowledge Koharu's presence at all. In fact, he was just sat on the bed, looking like his whole world had been crushed beyond repair. Irie was the one who stopped Koharu from getting any closer to Tokugawa, simply shaking his head as a signal that now was not a good time for whatever she had to say._

 _So Koharu waited._

 _She came by the infirmary every half hour or so, checking on Tokugawa. When dinner time rolled about, Koharu prepared a meal especially for her boyfriend, taking it down to the infirmary personally._

 _She placed the tray on the table in front of him, taking a seat in the chair next to the bed. "I made your favourite," Koharu smiled. "I don't cook a lot but I asked my mum for her recipe. I got you natto too. Lots of it. Eat up." Koharu took each and every one of the plates on the tray off and placed them carefully on the table, hugging the tray to her body as she looked to Tokugawa with a bright smile. One that he did not return. "I know it doesn't look appealing at all but I promise you, it's edible," she joked, trying to relieve the tension a little._

 _Still, Tokugawa was not one bit interested in the food._

 _"When you're better, maybe we could have a date?" Koharu asked, changing the subject when she sensed that he had no interest in eating. "I know we can't go anywhere as always but, we could watch a movie. I'll borrow Haruko-nee's laptop and we could wat-"_

 _"I'm getting kicked out of camp and all you care about is a date?"_

 _His tone of voice was not quite something that Koharu was used to. In fact, he never used a tone like that with her at all. "We um...we could watch whatever you want." Koharu finished her sentence before Tokugawa interrupted her, pretending like he never did. "Or um...we could-"_

 _"Stop it," Tokugawa said. This time, his tone was cold. Koharu looked up, staring at him with teary eyes. "Unless whatever you're going to say next can help me stay at the camp or beat Byoudoin, then don't say it. I don't need anything or anyone who can't help me."_

 _"So you don't need me?"_

 _By now, the tears were streaming down her cheeks and Koharu did not bother wiping them off. She knew that this was just Tokugawa speaking after his first defeat, he did not mean anything he said. Or at least, that was what she hoped. This was only temporary, was what she told herself. Soon, they would be back to being the couple they were, content with the simple dates they had in the camp. Soon, she would get the Tokugawa she fell in love with back. She tried to hypnotise herself into believing no matter what harsh words he threw at her, no matter how many silent treatments he gave her._

 _The harsh words eventually stopped, but the silent treatments never did. He never talked to her again since that night. Never even looked at her properly. Koharu visited him at the infirmary whenever she could until he got better and was eventually taken out of camp (up to the mountains). And even though Tokugawa eventually came back, it was never the same again. Tokugawa never looked her way but Koharu felt like crying every time she looked at him._

 ** _~Presently~_**

"Give me my melon bun!"

"Looks like you haven't grown for the last three years, Haru."

"Hey! I was taller than you in our first year!"

"That's...a little hard to believe, Haruka-san."

"Kura-kun, not you too!"

A group of voices pulled Koharu back to reality. Not too far away was her little sister with her group of friends. As she was watching the group, Koharu could not help but feel jealousy growing in her. Why did Haruka have everything in life? Why could she not have everything too? Why was Haruka able to enjoy the festival with the guy she liked when Koharu could not look at Tokugawa without her heart hurting?

"Oh, Koharu-nee!" The youngest Kobayashi grinned as soon as she saw her sister, running up to Koharu with a hug. "Did you have fun with Iri-nii?" There was no reply from Koharu, however, just silent staring. "Koharu-nee?"

"You seem happy."

"I am happy," Haruka smiled. "Look, Sei-kun, Shu-kun, and Kura-kun won all these for me!"

Looking down, Koharu saw the bag of prizes in Haruka's hand and the jealousy in her boiled over. Why was her sister allowed to be so happy when Koharu had to suffer all by herself? She was on the verge of bursting into tears yet Haruka had the brightest smile ever on her face. "Would you be as happy if he knew the truth about your transfer?"

It was a question out of the blue. Neither of the three guys knew what Koharu was talking about but Haruka did. Her eyes widened a little, surprised that her sister was talking in such a way, digging out a secret that their whole family had kept for three years. Koharu knew it was a low blow by her, but she could not help it. It was the one thing she knew that would destroy the happiness Haruka currently had. And evidently, it was working.

"Do you think he would still treat you the same if he knew the truth?" Koharu asked, her eyes glued on Yukimura. "If he knew, he was the reason why you transferred."

"Koharu-nee!"

"Haru? Is this true?"

"If you walked her to the station that day, she wou-"

"Stop it!"

Haruka could feel it, Yukimura's eyes on her. Even Fuji's and Shiraishi's. Her worst nightmare was coming true and it was by the hands of her very own sister. As to why, she had no idea. Ever since she could remember, her family had always been protective of her. When the incident happened, they all agreed to keep the lid on it. It was mainly to protect Haruka because she would wake screaming at night from her nightmares. They wanted to get on with life as if it never happened so the youngest Kobayashi could have a normal life. But that was ruined now by Koharu.

With no idea how to deal with the situation, Haruka took off. Fuji and Yukimura called out after her but with her small frame, she managed to snake herself into the crowd and disappear before any of them could catch up with her.

* * *

Whatever Koharu talked about, it was clearly something that Haruka did not want Yukimura to know about. It was something she did not want _anyone_ to know about. And it seemed like she was not going to be shedding any light on it any time soon either because that morning, when Yukimura went to practice, Haruka was not there. He waited to see her, greeting him with the usual 'Good morning' and 'Good luck at practice' but she never appeared. When he was on the court, he was waiting to see Haruka bouncing around the corner with a basket of water bottles, complaining about how heavy it was despite the bright smile on her face.

Fuji too, kept looking over his shoulder, distracted from his practice. Every time a volunteer walked by, he would look. Every time what sounded like a girl talking, he would look. But each and every time, it was not Haruka.

They saw Koharu and Haruko but neither of them looked like they wanted to talk about where their sister went. Koharu barely spared any of them a look while Haruko was busying herself so she did not have to talk to them. She found out the night before, when she came back to the dorm, seeing Haruka crying her eyes out on her bed. Unlike her sister, Haruko was no blabbermouth.

That morning, Haruko went to Saito, asking if Haruka could take up duties up in the mountains instead and in about ten minutes after, her little sister was sent up the mountain. It was no strange place for Haruka. She had been there previous years, taking sake and whatnot to the drunken coach. She never thought, however, she would be returning to the mountain for such a reason. It felt like she was running away from her problems but that was what she had been doing for the last three years. Running. She did not think it was time to stop just yet.

"Oi, brat."

A familiar voice called out to Haruka as she was nearing the cabin at the top of the mountain. Haruka looked up, seeing the old coach who still looked drunk as always with an irritated look on his face. "Hey, old man," Haruka greeted, dragging her feet on the ground, holding up a gourd containing his sake as she walked up to the cabin. "That's for you."

"Heard you wanted to stay up here."

"Yeah, that's why I bought extra sake for you this time."

"Well, you know the rules. No one is a freeloader here. You gotta work just like the rest of them brats."

Haruka gave a shrug in response. She knew that he was not going to let her off easy just because she was a volunteer, or because she was a girl (and also a non-player). The first year she came up to the mountains, he gave her a racket and made her practice like everyone else. The lack of response from Haruka was a little concerning, even to the coach many would describe as heartless. He was so used to seeing her with an unnecessary smile with her chirpy and witty responses that a glum Haruka felt uncomfortable.

As Haruka made her way over to join the middle school players, Mifune unplugged the cork from the gourd and took a swig at it, letting out a satisfied sigh before a hearty chuckle as he chugged the entire gourd of sake. A few of the middle school players raised an eyebrow at the sight of Haruka but a good handful of them were more than surprised to see the familiar face. Sanada being one of them.

The players from Seigaku went up to their manager instantly, asking questions here and there only to be shut down by Mifune shouting for them to get back to their practice. Haruka gave them a smile, telling them that she would tell them everything they needed to know after. But after knowing Haruka got a good portion of seven years that they were friends for, Sanada could tell that her smile was not real. It was a smile he had never seen Haruka with before.

When they made eye contact, Haruka gave Sanada a small smile. It was more genuine than the one before but it still was not quite the smile that Haruka would have on usually. Something was wrong and although he did not know what, Sanada took it upon himself to keep close to Haruka. She was away from the main camp, away from Yukimura. He was pretty sure his childhood friend would like for him to take good care of her. Haruka did not move away as Sanada came closer because oddly enough, despite all that was going on, all that was in her head, it was comfortable to have him around.

That was what Sanada had always been to her. Comfortable. Even when they were younger, Sanada took great care of her. He nagged her often, telling her not to do this, to always do that. But when it came to it, he was always there for her, acting like an older brother much like Hikaru. He never liked his nickname from her but Haruka could not bring herself to call him anything else. And it was in that moment of thinking what Sanada meant to her that Haruka was tempted to tell him. To let everything out. For once, she wanted someone to know.

"Geni-nii..."

"Yes?"

So many things were running at the same time in her mind. She was trying to dig through all the thoughts, choosing one of which to start it all with. She stared at him and Sanada stared right back, waiting for her to continue. But each time she tried to open her mouth, no words came out. A few more attempts and she eventually gave up. Now was not the right time either, she told herself.

"Nothing," she said softly. "I just...really miss you."

A little caught off guard, Sanada could only blink in response with his mouth hanging open. "Yeah um...I miss you too."


	12. Chapter 12

_Reviews would be appreciated~_

* * *

 **Sun And Sunflower**

 **Yukimura x OC, Tokugawa x OC, Tanegashima x OC**

 **Chapter Twelve**

After a full day of practice, it was safe to say that the players were all knackered. Mifune was not exactly an angelic coach, and neither were his methods. None of them understood what anything they did had to do with tennis, yet none of them dared to question the old man (a few of them did though what happened to them was more than enough for the others to shut up). Despite being just a volunteer, Haruka went through every single practice with them on top of her own duties. It was a little heartbreaking to see her running around, doing errands for the high school players who remembered her as the girl with the tennis ball.

When they went back into the cave for the night, she stayed near the entrance, leaning against the cave wall. While everyone went to their respective spots, Sanada made his way over to Haruka and sat down next to her. He did not speak, not even when Haruka acknowledged his presence. Instead, they just sat in silence side by side, watching the night sky above.

This had always been the relationship between Sanada and Haruka.

In front of Yukimura, Haruka was always the happiest girl in the world; she had the brightest smile and the cutest laugh. But whenever she was unhappy, she would come to Sanada. _I don't want Sei-kun to worry_ , was what she always said. Sanada had no idea if Yukimura knew, but there were days when Haruka would visit his house and they would sit on the veranda with a pot of tea between them. Sometimes, they would talk. Most of the time, they sat in silent. Much like now.

"All we're missing now is a pot of tea." Haruka broke the silence first. Sanada was a little surprised with her choice of words, looking at the smaller girl. She looked up at him with a smile though like earlier in the day, he could tell that it was an obligatory smile, not genuine one. "Before I transferred...I really wanted to come to you for some tea."

Sanada did not quite understand the meaning behind Haruka's words. Perhaps that was the reason why Haruka liked coming to him with all her worries. He would only listen and not say much apart from the few wise words that his grandfather had given him before.

"Geni-nii...have you ever been scared to see someone?" Haruka asked. A ten to twenty seconds of silence followed after, as if Haruka was waiting for Sanada to say something but they both knew that he would not. He was always passive in conversations. "Scared that when you look at them, they can see right through you, see everything that's on your mind."

"You're talking about Yukimura?"

"There's something I never told any one of you before," Haruka admitted. "The reason behind why I transferred."

 ** _~Three years ago~_**

 _Where was she?_

 _By now, several trains had already arrived at the station and crowd after crowd of students filed out, rushing to school yet none of them looked like the person he had been waiting for. There was still plenty of time before school was to start but that did not mean Yukimura was not worried. This was Haruka, after all. Yukimura would not be surprised if she stayed on the train because she was too busy watching the scenery. Just as he was about to give her a call, a pair of hands covered his eyes and a sweet voice greeted him._

 _"Guess who, Sei-kun."_

 _"Good morning, Haru," Yukimura chuckled._

 _He took her hands off his eyes and turned around to face her. When they first met at seven, Haruka was about an inch taller than he was. After one summer, just before they graduated from elementary school, Yukimura started growing a little taller which irritated Haruka to no end. Their first day of middle school and he was now standing half a head taller than she was._

 _Yukimura never thought that he would become such good friends with Haruka. It probably had something to do with how persistent she was in being friends with him._ Because you're as cool as my onii-chan _, was what she always said. Now that they were attending the same school, Yukimura could not wait to see that bright smile of hers greeting him every single morning when he came to pick her up. Perhaps this was the start of something new for them. Something...a little more than friendship, perhaps._

 _"I can't believe I'm going to the same school as Sei-kun!" Haruka grinned. "Onii-chan went to Rikkai too."_

 _"He's become quite a legend at the school, so I've heard," Yukimura said. "Have you had breakfast?"_

 _"Mum made me a special breakfast this morning."_

 _The two then met up with Sanada just outside of the campus, and much to Haruka's annoyance, he too had grown a lot taller over the summer. A few bickering back and forth between the two ensued before Yukimura broke them up, ushering them into the building._

 _All three of them were in different classes but that never stopped them from meeting up to have lunch together every single day. Haruka never found the need to make other friends because the two that mattered the most were right there with him. Even when Yukimura and Sanada joined the tennis club, she would tag along and sit on the sidelines, watching and waiting for them. And like he had promised from the beginning, Yukimura waited every morning at the station for her and walked her back after school every day. Without fail._

 _Until that fated day._

 _"Practice is running a little late today," Yukimura explained. "Do you mind walking to the station alone? I don't want you waiting too long."_

 _"It's okay," Haruka replied with a smile._

 _"Be careful, okay?"_

 _"Stop treating me like a child, Sei-kun."_

 _Her little pout brought a smile to Yukimura's face as he gave her a gentle pat on the head. As he watched her leave with a little spring to her steps, he could not help but worry. Though soon, he went back to practice and Haruka was long gone from his thoughts._

 _Although it was her first time walking to the station alone, scared or worried was definitely not how Haruka felt. She was a little disappointed; Yukimura did promise that he would walk her every single day after all. But it was all soon gone with the wind as she hummed a soft tune to herself, taking the usual route she did with her childhood friend. Until she turned a corner._

 _There was a long set of stairs that she had to go down and there was still quite some walking before she would reach the station. But a group of three girls were loitering around the top of the stairs, as if they had been waiting for Haruka. She stopped for a second, surprised to see someone there, but soon continued on though she was suddenly yanked back by her uniform collar._

 _"Oh look, if it isn't the Kobayashi girl."_

 _"Oh yeah, the one with the famous brother, right?"_

 _"Yeah, the one who's always around Yukimura-kun."_

 _"What do you guys want?" Haruka asked._

 _She recognised the girls; one of them was from her class and she was always seen with the other two. They made quite a few appearances too, at the tennis club's practice. But Haruka was not friends with them. Nor did she think she was an enemy either. Her school life consisted of classes, lunch with her two friends, more classes, and waiting for their tennis practice to be over. She never interacted much with others though it seemed like they knew her quite well._

 _"Look, just because your brother went pro in tennis doesn't mean you can use that to hog Yukimura-kun." Haruka did not quite understand what she meant. What did her brother playing pro tennis had anything to do with her being friends with Yukimura? They did not become friends in the first place because of that. Neither did either of them thought of it as an important element of their friendship. "What are you trying to achieve, hm? Are you trying to date Yukimura-kun?"_

 _"W-what are you talking about? Sei-kun and I are just friends!"_

 _"Sei-kun? How dare you call Yukimura-kun by his name? This is so typical of spoiled girls like you. Stop hanging around Yukimura-kun, understand?"_

 _The girl shoved Haruka. Hard. She could not balance herself and crashed into one of the others, who was quick to push Haruka away. For a good two minutes, they pushed Haruka around between them, repeatedly telling her to back off from Yukimura. One rough push, Haruka was suddenly heading in a different direction. The girl who was supposed to be there stepped out of the way for some reason and what was welcoming Haruka was the flight of stairs she walked up and down every day. She could not stop herself. She knew what was coming for her. She could only brace herself._

 _As she tumbled down the stairs, Haruka's forehead bumped hard into one of the steps with a jagged stone stuck in the crack, cutting deeply into her skin. The back of her head collided with the steps several times too, as she fell. By the time her tumble came to a stop, Haruka was already at the bottom of the steps, unconscious and bleeding._

 _The girls ran away, of course._

 ** _~Presently~_**

"I don't remember much after that," Haruka said softly. "Mum said a woman on her way home found me and called an ambulance for me."

Silence followed after.

Haruka felt a ton lighter now that she had unloaded the one secret she had been keeping for three years. For three years, Yukimura and Sanada never knew why she transferred. All they knew was one day, they went to school, and Haruka was not there. One day, the teacher came and told them that she was never coming back to Rikkai. It hurt Yukimura more than it did Sanada but he had to admit (silently) that he missed Haruka. Every day, for about a month after her transfer, Sanada would walk past her classroom, hoping to see the girl sitting at her desk.

But she never came back.

Yukimura tried calling her but she never picked up. They tried visiting her but she was always too busy to see them (or so they were told). Sanada never thought that this was the reason why. He always just thought, this was life. People came and went, and Haruka happened to be one of those people. They were naive in thinking that they could be friends forever. But they wanted to know why. Yukimura, especially.

"I don't want you treating me differently," Haruka said, looking Sanada in the eyes. From the times they spent sitting together on veranda, Sanada had learnt to read Haruka's expressions really well. She wore them on her face most of the time; she was the most honest person he had ever known with her feelings. Right now, she was looking at him, almost pleading but mostly with seriousness. "It's...partly why I never told anyone. I don't want anyone to treat me with pity. I just want to be the Haruka that you grew up with."

What Sanada felt in him, it was not pity. No, he thought Haruka was brave for what she went through. Even after the bullying, she still found the confidence in others and treated everyone with a smile whenever she saw them. She still found the courage to keep her kindness, despite what happened. What Sanada felt, however, was guilt. Guilt because all that could have been prevented if him and Yukimura were there. Haruka would still be at Rikkai and they would be graduating together this year. Guilt because she kept it all to herself, to save them from the guilt.

Still, he placed a hand on her head, his way of showing affection and to promise her silently that he would not treat her differently. "Goodnight, Geni-nii," Haruka smiled, getting up on her feet and walked into the cave, finding herself a space near Oishi before laying down.

* * *

"Hey brat."

The next morning, when the middle school players were sent to get water, Mifune called out to Haruka though it was a little confusing with the fact that he addressed every other student there with 'brat'. Haruka liked to think that her 'brat' was with more affection. She hung back, waiting for Mifune as he took a swig at his gourd (more like three gulps). "Are you sure it's a good idea for you to be drinking so early in the morning?" Haruka asked. Mifune glared, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand before throwing a racket and a piece of cloth at her. "What's this?"

"A racket, you dumbass."

"I know it's a racket but why am I holding a racket?"

"Well, I think it's about time you show them the blindfold practice."

"Not that again..."

Although she had given up on playing tennis a long time ago, every year when she volunteered at the U-17 Camp and came up to the mountain, Mifune had her joining all the practices. While she was not exactly Nationals material, it was safe to say that Haruka could hold her own game. About two years ago, Mifune discovered that Haruka's hearing was exceptionally good (she could tell how much sake was left just by listening to the liquid swish around in his gourd and always refilled it before it finished). He took advantage of this, coming up with what seemed like a ridiculous practice and had Haruka demonstrate it. Like he was showing off his best student.

As the middle school players were returning, they were told to gather around the court with the high school players and watch the demonstration. Haruka walked up to the court, the racket (which apparently belonged to Echizen) under her arm while she blindfolded herself with the piece of cloth. She stood at the baseline, waiting for Mifune to do his little introduction.

"Game is easy. You blindfold yourself and you return the five balls served at you. You must return them in the order they were served. You miss one, you're out. Anyone who can't do five sets doesn't get to eat dinner tonight. Anyone got questions?" Some hands shot up into the air but Mifune disregarded them, taking another swig from his bottle. "Let's start. You five, get over to the other side and serve as I tell you."

Five players were chosen at random, standing at the baseline on the other side of the court. Finishing off his sake, Mifune then used his finger to point at the person he wanted to serve. To demonstrate the basics of the practice, he had them served one after the other only when Haruka had returned the ball during the first set. Then, he upped the difficulty, having them serve with only about a second of delay.

Running from side to side, Haruka still managed to return all the balls in perfect order. As they watched, most of the high school players were mumbling among themselves, commenting on how the practice seemed a little...too easy. After all, if the tiny middle school girl could do it, why could they not? She was not even a proper tennis player. "It's not easy at all," Yanagi and Inui said at the same time.

"It would be easy if you could return the balls in any order but you have do it order," Inui explained. "Our instinct is always to react to anything in our immediate vicinity. Any balls near us, we would want to return it first. However, returning it in order means that you must disregard the one nearest to you if it was not the right order."

"This is not something that could be easily done even without the blindfold. With the blindfold, it is at least 74% harder. You have to determine the distance and location of the next ball with just your hearing in a split second. It's not something that could be pulled off so easily," Yanagi added.

"My question is, how is Kobayashi-senpai doing so well at this?"

Ryoma asked the one question that was on everyone's mind. For a non-player, she was doing exceptionally well. The only trouble they could see her struggling with was her stamina. The more sets they did, the more tiring it was for her and therefore, she was getting slower. Besides that, she was able to determine the order of each set with no mistakes.

Once her five sets were done, Mifune took her off the court and ordered the players to start their practice. The high school players were to go first and just as Yanagi and Inui had said, it was not a simple practice as they had thought. Most of them barely got past the first set, failing at the second. Only a handful of them managed to get to the third and even less actually completed the practice. When the middle school players went, they were better at it. Although not all of them passed, they all managed at least three sets before they failed. Some passed flawlessly while others passed with some struggles.

"Don't beat yourself up about it, Echizen. You nearly got it."

"I'm not beating up myself about it, Momo-senpai," Ryoma stated, his eyes gliding over to where Haruka was seated on the steps of the hut. "I just don't understand how Kobayashi-senpai was able to pass it but I couldn't."

"Mada mada dane," Haruka smirked.


End file.
